Po, Ti, and Tai: Adventures of Chaos
by Lion warrior
Summary: Po is stressed. His stupid decision to bring Tai-Lung back has him caught in the middle between Tigress and Tai-Lung. Shifu is gone and Po's stuck with the pressures of being Grandmaster. However, a mysterious person comes along to help him find some kind of harmony but starts showing Po and the others deep closets of chaos in each of their own lives.
1. Chapter 1

Po, Ti, and Tai: The Adventures of Chaos

Don't own KFP

**I'm starting to realize that I do better with you guys when it's an actual story**

* * *

The two never saw eye to eye and Po couldn't blame them. They were arch-enemies. Bitter foes. Angry rivals. Intense adversaries. But in the panda's mind, they were still brother and sister... in a sorta way. Po watched as the male snow leopard glared at the female tiger across the table. The other Furious Five were okay with Po's decision to try and rehabilitate Tai-Lung as long as Po could keep a close eye on him. But, stupidly, that decision was done when Tigress was out of town on business. Po simply drummed his fingers on the table, feeling the tense awkward silence in the room. He didn't dare get up because the last time he did so, BOTH of the felines turned their gaze at him. "Sooo," he said, breaking the hard silence between them. "I know that this is a kind of... a surprise to you, Tigress, but I-"

"You could have at the very least waited until I got back, Po." She said very slowly, announcing each word with heavy emphasis.

"He is the Dragon Warrior," Tai-Lung begrudgingly mentioned, but had to in order to make a powerful point. "He is allowed to make his own decisions, Kitten." Tigress glared hard at the formerly 'dead' warrior. Her arms were crossed and her eyes glared menacingly at the snow leopard. "Of course, I don't know how much power you _actually_ exercise, panda." He said, almost challenging his authority instantly. Po sighed wearily. He knew this wasn't going to be easy.

"Look, I messed up with both of you," Po confessed. That grabbed two's attention. "I didn't wait for you to get here so we could talk about him. And I didn't just put you in a different part of the world when I took you back from the Spiritual Realm."

"You mean prison?" Tai-Lung rebuked.

"You should be fortunate," Tigress said, trying to be calm and hide her obvious anger. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't be in the Spiritual Realm at all."

"You mean... if you were Dragon Warrior," Tai-Lung tactlessly commented, earning a growl from Tigress. Po sighed, getting up from the table.

"Listen, you two fighting isn't going to make this any better," Po firmly said, "You can either learn to get along or-"

"Get along!" Tigress cried out, "He destroyed and demolished half the village, nearly killed us and Master Shifu, and you want me to overlook all of that?!" Po gave a great frustrated sigh.

"I don't know! Just... URGH!" Po grunted, storming out of the room.

"Hehe, I would never have thought that someone like him could pass for a Dragon Warrior," Tai-Lung commented harshly with a small smirk on his face.

"He's more of a noble warrior than you ever were and ever will be," She said with great hostility as she stormed out the kitchen. Po ran out to the Hall of Heroes where he shut all the doors and gave a great sigh.

"UGH! What kind of idiot am I! I knew I should have waited for her," Po badgered himself. "Ugh, even then that wouldn't have worked. Ugh!" Po looked at the wooden staff of Oogway that Master Shifu left him. "Why did you put me in charge? I sometimes wonder if you were just as crazy as Oogway," Po sighed. Though not deceased, Master Shifu had retired to the north, leaving Po in charge, a position he soon regretted. Po thought that in his heart there was not only some good in Tai-Lung but enough to make him a redeemable person. However, this would be difficult with his past AND the fact that Tai-Lung didn't seem like he wanted to change in his attitude that much. Po knew that the snow leopard wouldn't cause much harm since the greatest position and power in the universe had eluded him. The snow leopard was ambitious, but for now, he had no ambition, no goal. So he acted more like a disgruntled drunken wash-up, at times.

But Tigress was a different story. Tai-Lung seemed to greatly enjoy the tiger's irritated and vengeful moods. Po could see that, but he didn't know if Tigress could. In either case, Po had to deal with two bickering and hating each other like kids... well, kids that could very well cause the whole village to go into an uproar if Tigress has her way. So Po had to be the alien in this situation. Po looked at the painting of Master Oogway and sighed heavily. "Hehe, I know that I'm the Dragon Warrior, but maybe I wonder if there just could have been another," Po said. Just then, Zeng flapped in.

"Dragon Warrior! Dragon Warrior! Trouble!" the nerve-wracked duck spluttered. Po rolled his eyes at the duck's usual nervousness as he nearly crash-landed onto the floor. "Trouble in the Eastern Village!"

"I'll get the others. Time to get my thunder on," Po said, pulling up his pants and pumping his fist in the air. There were two things that will always help Po relax: Food and fighting.

Meanwhile, Crane, Viper, Monkey, and Mantis were too afraid to get the food since there was an intense standoff happening in the hallway. "I don't have to follow your orders, Kitten," Tai-Lung growled, crossing his arms. "Besides, if anyone is in charge of me, it's the panda. Or should I say your superior." Tigress growled, unsheathing her claws.

"HEY!" Shouted a voice at the other end of the hall. "I need warriors down at the Eastern Village! All of you," Po said, staring at Tai-Lung. "NOW!" The two felines looked at each other final time before exiting the hallway. Po gave a great huff of exhausted air.

"We're sorry that they're a bit much to you, Po," Viper sympathetically said.

"I'll worry about that later. Right now, we have to get to that village!"

"Yes Grandmaster Po," The four said, darting out the door. Po glanced at the floor.

"Some grandmaster I am," He sighed, going out the door.

The village was being ransacked by armored boar bandits. The screams and shouts of every citizen could be heard. The bandits were breaking down doors, turning over carts, and chasing the villagers around. "Hey!" shouted Po, calling the bandits attention. "I think you've overstayed your visit," Po said, darting over to the bandits as he, Tai-Lung, and the Furious Five started fighting them. As Po charged into a house towards an escaping bandit, the bandit darted up the ladder of the house. Po followed, tackling the bandit down.

"Ahh, the duck didn't promise this kind of pain!" The bandit grunted under the panda's weight.

"Duck? Who are you working for?" Po interrogated.

"Well, I can help you with that," Said a calm cool voice. Po looked up and saw a duck flap his way onto the roof. "Hello, Dragon Warrior."

"You're the bandits' mastermind?" Po asked. The duck humorously chuckled as he motioned him to get off the bandit.

"Here's your pay," The duck said, giving him a sack full of money.

"You're a crazy duck," the bandit squabbled, as he took the money and darted off. Po was left on the roof. He got into a ready fighting stance. The mysterious duck laughed.

"Oh, don't worry, Dragon Warrior. I'm not here to fight you. I only told the bandits to cause a ruckus so that I could meet you," The duck said, showing the bandits who were fighting Furious Five and Tai-Lung. Po look over the roof and saw that while the snow leopard and tiger were at each others' throats they seemed to be natural at fighting with each other. "They do seem to have a good instinctual connection in their fighting, even though they are at odds."

"How do you know Tigress and Tai-Lung?" Po asked him. "Wait, wait, who are you? Are you some weird wizard or guru kind of guy?" Po asked cautiously. The duck simply smiled as he crossed his hands behind himself.

"You can call me... Jai-Ling," the duck smiled.

**Continued.. **


	2. A Timed Catastrophe

A Timed Catastrophe

* * *

Po was still cautious about the duck. He _had_ led a group of bandits to attack a village. "Why send the bandits?! They could hurt someone!"

"I suppose that is always a risk, but if you'll look closely, they aren't," Jai-Ling said, pointing in the direction of the bandits. Po could see that the bandits weren't really hurting the villagers or stealing anything. They were just causing a mess. Po shook his head.

"That doesn't mean it's right," Po said sternly. The duck smiled. He had on a blood-red vest with a black flower design on it.

"Sometimes we do the wrong things for the right reasons and vice versa," Jai-Ling replied. Po couldn't figure out what the duck wanted. "The reason why I've done this," Jai-Ling suddenly started speaking, "Is that I need you to see something regarding Tigress and Tai-Lung."

"You mean their well-known hatred of each other," Po asked bluntly. The duck shook his head as he pointed to the two fighting the bandits.

"Look closely, they are fighting _with_ each other. Not getting in each other's way. Meaning there is a basic sense of mutualism in them," The duck explained. Po was still confused.

"Okay, so they hit the bandits more than they hit each other. I don't understand what's the issue there," Po said. Jai-Ling sighed as he walked away from the panda to the other side of the roof.

"When they are focused on one common thing, they work together. Which means that there is a chance that they can get over their differences and work as one. If you allow that, that is," the duck smirked.

"Why would I NOT allow it?" Po exclaimed, "I've been having trouble with those two for an entire week now." Jai-Ling smirked.

"Well, in order to stop the river from flowing, you have to go to the source and stop the ice from melting."

"What?" Po said completely confused.

"Punch both of them where it hurts. You are the Grandmaster. Sometimes doing the wrong things will give you the right results. For a while," Jai-Ling replied, waving his hand a bit at the idea.

"So what do I do then?" Po asked.

"Be someone you _have_ to be," Jai-Ling said, flapping his wings and flying away. "Oh, one more thing." He tossed a sealed scroll to Po. "Read that tomorrow. I have some jobs for you to do."

"Like this one?"

"Nothing like that, panda." Jai-Ling grinned mischievously as he flew away. When Po looked back down into the streets, the bandits were defeated, but Tigress and Tai-Lung were still arguing. Po sighed as he jumped off the roof, landing right beside them.

"Whoa! A little stumble there," Po chuckled a bit in embarrassment. "Now what's the problem?"

"Nothing, Grandmaster," Tai-Lung said with an insulting bow. "I was just telling Tigress that she needed to learn to know her place."

"And that place isn't under you," Po sternly said to the snow leopard. This shocked everyone. _Be someone you have to be_. Po straightened up and held his hands clenched. "Tai-Lung, I brought you back here because I had a feeling that you would be a great ally and help to the people that you wronged or the people that you think have wronged you. But prove that feeling wrong and the Spiritual Realm isn't the first place I will send you." Tai-Lung laughed, mockingly.

"You can't muster enough courage to do that, and you know it," Tai-Lung leered. Po's face turned into one of confusion. What he said next sent a chill down Tai-Lung's spine, but he said it so calmly and matter-of-factly, that Tai-Lung didn't question it any further.

"Tai-Lung, you would not the first person I've killed," Po stated, shocking and paralyzing everyone within earshot. "And you won't be the last." The panda calmly turned his head over to Tigress. "And as for you, Tigress. I know that this is a situation that you're conflicted with and greatly so. But need I remind you that your focus is to keep the Valley peaceful?" Po walked a bit closer to her. "And I can't handle you two slashing at each others' throats like this. If this continues," Po paused. "I may have to leave and find another place to be Grandmaster of." She was the only person who heard that part, and it scared her stiff. While the others were trying to figure out what he said to her to make her so frightened, Po told them to get the bandits to the jail. "I'll be waiting for you at the Jade Palace." He said, walking away from the village and back up the Jade Palace steps. The others looked at each other greatly confused, shocked, and horrified.

"Be who you have to be," Po repeated to himself, "And if I have to be like this, so be it."

* * *

The next day, Tigress, Tai-Lung, and the others were eating breakfast, although, with the intense stare-off between the two felines, it was hard to enjoy the silence. Suddenly, "Guys, guys! I just got news! Jing Valley had a landslide!" Po exclaimed.

"Ugh," The Furious Five groaned in dread. Po and Tai-Lung shared a look of confusion.

"It's about that time of year. Let's get going," Tigress said standing up.

"Don't worry about it, Po. This happens every time at that Valley," Monkey said.

"But what do you mean by that time of year?" Po asked.

"Because it always happens on this day," Crane replied, "It's the most timely rockslide we've ever seen in the area."

"How come I've never heard of it?" Po asked.

"You've been away most of the times it happens," Tigress explained, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"A timed avalanche? That doesn't sound weird at all," Tai-Lung commented.

"You've been out of the area for more than a while," Tigress grunted, a bit irritated that he even spoke.

"But Tai-Lung has a point. What kind of avalanche happens so regularly?" Po said, thinking about the question. "Come on, let's get going."

"Have fun," Tai-Lung smirked.

"You too, Spots!" Po ordered, making the snow leopard flinch at the nickname. Tai-Lung joined the others as Tigress held the panda back a bit.

"Spots?"

"Hey, it was the best one I could think of at the moment. Don't judge me," Po cutely pouted as he went after the others.

**Continued...**


	3. Lu-Chang

Lu-Chang

* * *

The team finally got to the Jing Village. The village was walled by two massive gray mountains that ascended to the clouds. The top of the mountains couldn't be seen, but Po saw that there was a cleared out area free from houses right where the fallen rocks were. In fact, the villagers didn't seem to really be affected by the avalanche. A large rope with pickets lined around the area was fixed in place. It seemed that in the past the rocks had never fallen further than that rope. "This isn't right," Po said, picking up the very small rocks off the ground."

"I know it's weird, but the village wants these rocks taken away to the waste area," Viper sighed as she took her bag of small rocks.

"No, something isn't right," Tai-Lung said, backing up the panda's statement. He looked at the rocks. "These aren't even the same rocks from the mountain." Po took a chunk from Tai-Lung.

"Wait, yeah, he's right," Po agreed, making the Furious Five stop their work. "This rock is from Desert Mountain. The one that has brown rock."

"But... Desert Mountain is behind that mountain. Why would rocks from there be over here?" Tai-Lung asked. No one had the answer for long until Tigress thought of something.

"It could be the result of mining. Desert Mountain has a deposit of valuable rock orbs. But that mountain is considered sacred and people don't mine there."

"Not legally," Tai-Lung pointed out.

"Someone is illegally mining on Desert Mountain, but why take the rock and put it on this mountain?" Tigress asked. Tai-Lung was stumped. Then, Po laughed.

"Okay, I see it now," Po said, piecing the clues together. The others were confused. "Think about it. If you're mining somewhere illegally, what's the one thing you have to worry about as evidence? Mining waste. You can't just take it to a waste area or people will start to ask where you got the rock. So to make sure that no one wonders where it comes from-"

"They put a temporary waste area on top of the mountain and then let the waste roll down the mountain when it gets full. That way, it looks like a rockslide," Tai-Lung finished.

"Hey, that was my idea," Po argued, making the snow leopard roll his eyes. Tigress looked around.

"Come on, let's see what's going on," Tigress said as they started up the mountain.

"Ugh, climbing mountains is worse the climbing stairs," Po whined.

"How is he the Dragon Warrior again?" Tai-Lung asked Tigress.

"Just shut up and keep moving," Tigress remarked roughly. The team charged over the mountain and to the Desert Mountain. It was considered sacred due to its large deposit of Sand-Fire stone that glowed even under no light. The Emperor declared it a sacred place and prohibited anyone from mining there. As Po and the others got to the side of the mountain, they could see a worn down pathway to the top of the mountain. "Someone has been here. A lot." Tigress analyzed. Tai-Lung spotted broken carts and wagons around the immediate area.

"All of them having the same sediment found at the mountain," Tai-Lung commented. Po pulled up his pants a bit more.

"Well, standing here isn't going to get this solved," Po said, marching up the mountain. The team followed the panda up. A small round cave entrance was carved out in the mountain. It was just big enough to fit Po. "EHH! Come on! Push!" Just enough. Monkey and Crane were pushing from the outside while Mantis and Viper pulled from the inside.

"Po! Have you gained an inch?!" Monkey strained as he pushed on the panda. Tigress rubbed her muzzle in mental pain while Tai-lung held a smirk on his face.

"I take it back, he is the Dragon Warrior," He mockingly laughed. Suddenly, Po was pushed through, tumbling onto Tai-Lung, nearly squashing him flat. "ACK!"

"Oops, sorry, Tai," Po said, getting up from the snow leopard. Tai-Lung groaned, rubbing his head as Tigress smirked over him.

"Karma is a-"

"Come on, let's get going," Viper called everyone to attention as they went into the cave. They entered a large coliseum size mining area under the mountain. People were toiling and smashing their hammers against the crevices of the rocks. The people working looked like they were slaves.

"That's how they managed to keep it silent," Tai-Lung whispered. "No one would bother to ask a slave what they're doing."

"We have to figure out who's in charge of this. What should we do, Po? Po?" Tigress looked around and saw that the panda wasn't anywhere near them.

"How do you lose a panda?" Tai-Lung growled.

"Trust me, it happens more than you think," Mantis muttered. Tigress jumped into the jagged spikes of the cave's ceiling, looking for the panda.

"There he is," Tigress pointed out. Po was stealthfully walking towards a small wooden shop, guarded by wolves that he was knocking out.

"He's going to get himself killed," Tai-Lung grunted as they moved.

"What's new," Monkey joked. Po snuck up on the last of the guards and knocked him out.

"Okay," Po knocked on the door.

"What is it!" Shouted a voice that kicked the door out. Po saw a small female Simianese cat standing before him. "Who are you? A new worker? Then get to work."

"Um... Ahh, Actually, the guard told me I was to be your foreman," Po quickly made up. Tai-Lung and the others paused, trying to figure out what Po was up to. "I'm... Lee, Mrs..."

"Lu-Chang," The cat grumbled, rolling her eyes. Her frown turned into a quirked up smirk, though. "You are kind of cute. Maybe I could use you."

"At your service," Po nervously grinned as he stepped into the small office. The team dropped onto the top of the office, pressing their ears against the roof of the shop. "So, what exactly are we looking for, Mrs. Lu-Chang."

"That's none of your business. My question is how and why did you find out about this place?" Lu-Chang asked.

"Oh, well you... kind of made it obvious," Po explained. The cat seemed insulted.

"I've taken every measure of making sure this operation is completely secretive. I don't have loose ends."

"Rrrright. Like brown rocks coming from a gray mountain?" Po pointed out. Lu-Chang's eyes widened. "Yeah, I figured out it was that. I ran into one of the guards when I came over here. He was about to knock me out, but I convinced him that I would be a great help to you. And I am a good help."

"Hmm, I bet you are," Lu-Chang mischievously smirked. "Well, under this mountain are Sand-Fire stone, one of the rarest and most sacred of all stones."

"And you're mining here undercover because?"

"The black market is very rewarding," Lu-Chang smirked. "Even though the Emperor has forbidden the use of Sand-Fire stones and the mining, almost all of the officials use and have Sand-Fire Stones."

"Like who?" Po asked. Lu-Chang scowlingly walked over to him. "Um... Mrs?"

"That is for me to know and for you to never find out," She sternly said, poking his chest with his finger.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lu-Chang, I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries," Po said bowing his head. Tai-Lung rolled his eyes.

"The panda has some impressive acting skills," He commented to the others.

"What should we do?" Viper asked Tigress. The tiger looked at the slaves around the mountain.

"Get the slaves out of here, I'll stay here with Po." The others nodded and left, but Tai-Lung stayed. "I said-"

"I don't necessarily care what you say, Kitten," Tai-Lung smirked at the glaring Tiger. Now wasn't the time to indulge in his attempts to make her angry.

"So where do you get the slaves?" Po asked.

"The slaves come from all corners of the Chinese underground market. We have a dealer named-"

"It's probably best that I don't know, Mrs. Lu-Chang," Said Po stopping her. Though a bit ticked off, Tigress was intrigued by Po's acting. "Besides, if the masters of the Jade Palace were to know I was talking with you, I could lose my job." Mrs. Lu-Chang's eyes widened.

"You work at The Jade Palace?! Mmm, I could use you more than just a foreman, Lee," Lu-Chang smirked, running her fingers across Po's chest. Po smirked back, gently grabbing Lu-Chang's hand and kissing it.

"I like the proposition," Po replied.

"Hmm, charmer," Tai-Lung smirked, very surprised. Tigress seemed more surprised... and narrowed eyed about this situation. Tigress turned and saw that the slaves were all out. The four of the Furious five came back to the shop.

"Everyone's out," Viper whispered. Po's ear twitched up.

"Someone's here," Po said, grabbing Lu-Chang's shoulders and holding her tight. Po released her, going outside and seeing the slaves and guards gone.

"What happened?!" Lu-Chang shouted, passing panda. Behind her back, Po made Mantis's cricket and Viper's hissing noise.

"It's the Furious Five, run Lu-Chang!" The cat darted out the door and out of the mountain. Po ran with her, but the Furious Five and Tai-Lung just watched them leave. "What about the cave?"

"Don't worry, I set the bomb of,." Lu-Chang smirked. Po's eyes widened.

"The mountain's about to blow!?" He shouted. That got everyone's attention.

"MOVE!" Tigress shouted as Tai-Lung and the Furious Five darted out the entrance they came in, minutes before the cave collapsed on itself, shutting the entryway shut.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Lu-Chang?"

"Yeah, thanks to you," The cat said, looking at his eyes. "Um... I need to re-group and get more men. I think it's best that you go back to your job at the Jade Palace," Lu-Chang said.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Po asked, pretending to actually show worry. The cat smirked.

"Aw, you miss me already?"

"Yes," Po said, grabbing her hands into his. "I do." The cat shook her hands away from him.

"I'll be fine. Catch you later, Lee," Lu-Chang waved goodbye to the panda as she ran away. Po breathed in and relaxed all the tension in his body as the Furious Five and Tai-Lung came up to him.

"Nice job, guys. You were perfect." Po smiled. Tai-Lung started slowly clapping, having a mischievous devious face. "What?"

"That was superb acting, panda. I did not know you had it in you to lie your tail off like that," Tai-Lung applauded.

"Yeah, you managed to get her trust within five minutes," Viper smiled at the awkwardly chuckling panda. Tigress was a bit more serious.

"Why did you do that?" Tigress asked.

"We have no idea why she's doing this. And I want to know who those officials are," Po said. "Go back to the Jade Palace. I have to do some stuff on my own," Po said.

"You sure you're not going to go after you're new lover," Tai-Lung teased. Po rolled his eyes as he left, but he felt Tigress stop him.

"Po, about what you told Tai-Lung. Who did... I mean... when did you first... kill?" Tigress asked. Po looked at her with a heavy face.

"Please, don't ask me about that," Po whispered.

"Okay, but where are you going?"

"I'll explain later," Po smiled as he left them, going into the woods. Po looked at the scroll. The reason why they were at the Jing Village in the first place was because Jai-Ling's letter told them about it. But how did the duck know the rockslide would happen that day? And what was he after?

**Continued...**


	4. A Ship on land

A Ship on Land

* * *

"So, where did you go after Desert Mountain," Tai-Lung asked.

"I told you, it's private," Po sternly said, Tai-Lung stopped him from walking away, blocking his path.

"I think you just don't want to tell us. What, did you on a dinner date?" Tai-Lung asked. Po didn't seem phased. He simply sighed and said,

"Yes, actually, I went to dinner but not a date of any kind." Po explained, "Tai-Lung don't you have training to do or something? You must have something you can do other than make my life _more_ difficult."

"Well, _Grandmaster Po_ I don't have anything do to, remember?" Tai-Lung said, raising his voice. "I'm stuck here in this forsaken place because _someone_ decided it was a good idea to steal what was rightfully mine in the first place!" Po didn't say a word. "Besides," Tai-Lung said a bit calmer, "You still have to explain yourself about some things."

"Like what?"

"Why are you even here? Being the pet boy for Master Shifu," Tai-Lung argued. Po rolled his eyes.

"Do you see Shifu anywhere near here?" Po asked.

"Yes," Tai muttered, flicking his finger on Po's forehead. "There."

"Ow!"

"Why else send me, the kitten, and you on a mission where we all go over our annoyances of each other to solve a problem?" Tai-Lung grunted. Po was about to fire back, but then he replayed what Tai-Lung said. An almost creepy grin crawled onto Po's face, unnerving Tai-Lung.

"It did, didn't it?" Po said with a smirk. He walked around Tai-Lung, continuing on his path. "Tai-Lung, I think you just helped me figure out something."

"And that would be?"

"Ha! That's the surprise," Po giddily said as he bounced along the way to the Hall of Heroes. Tai-Lung continued to stare in the panda's pathway before brushing the incident aside.

"Hello, Tai-Lung?" Said a kind voice that Tai recognized as Master Viper. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm alive, so that's a good thing," Tai-Lung gruffly answered.

"Hehe, great," Viper awkwardly said. Tai-Lung's eyebrow rose, questioning why the snake was bothering with him. "Um... I was just wondering if you could train with me," Viper smiled. Tai-Lung laughed mockingly.

"What is this? A prank from the primate, or a taunt from the kitten?" Tai-Lung asked snidely laughed. Viper blinked before answering.

"No, Monkey nor Tigress are involved in this," Viper answered innocently. "I just wanted to... get to know you more." Tai-Lung laughed more.

"I think I'll pass," Tai-Lung smirked, walking past the snake. Before he could get far, Po came rushing back to them.

"We're needed in the Lang-Hun Plain. Something's going on there, and we need to figure out what."

"I'm not going with you all," Tai-Lung firmly answered.

"It will only be you, Viper, and me. Tigress and the others won't be going on this one."

"Why?" Viper asked.

"I'll explain when it's over," Po replied as he hurried them over to the Lang-Hun Plain. The plain was very spacious and flat, great for growing rice farms and paddies. As the three of them journeyed over there. Tai-Lung couldn't help but notice the hurt snake looking down at the ground. Tai-Lung smirked a bit.

"I didn't hurt your feelings, did I Master Viper?" He asked mockingly. Viper's glare actually surprised the snow leopard.

"You know what? Yes, you did."

"Did I miss something?" Po asked.

"I simply asked Tai-Lung if he would like to train with me and he brushed it off as an insult from Tigress or a prank from Monkey," Viper replied.

"Which is probably is," Tai-Lung commented.

"No, it isn't!"

"And why did you want to train with Tai-Lung, of all people," Po lightly jabbed at the snow leopard.

"Because he's learned all 10,000 of the scrolls and is one of the best fighters," Viper said, shocking Tai-Lung, "I just figured that the great and powerful Tai-Lung would be interested in teaching someone a new trick. I guess I was wrong," Viper muttered, slithering along.

"You didn't mention THAT part!" Tai-Lung shouted ahead.

"Would it have made a difference? You didn't look like you liked the idea of training with her," Po pointed out.

"I... uh... I mean! Let's just get this over with," Tai-Lung grunted, greatly confused himself. Po smiled a bit as they walked towards the city. "What's the problem with this place again? They seem fine."

"Yes, they actually seem to have a high... tourism," Viper said, noticing a very consumerism presence in the village. People were crowding the streets with fake swords, small eye patches were on for sell and everyone kept talking like a pirate. "Although, it seems a bit misplaced," Viper commented.

"Oh! Yeah, apparently we're here to investigate the claims of a ghost pirate ship that roams these plains." Viper and Tai-Lung stopped in their tracks and gazed at the panda with an unbelieving glare. "Yes, yes, I know we are nowhere near even a small lake, but you heard me right. Plus, it would explain why everything is so pirate-themed around here."

"Get your lucky charm bracelets. Guaranteed to keep your possessions from getting stolen from ghost pirates!" Shouted a vendor.

"I don't get it. This place is landlocked! How is a ship of ANY kind suppose to get here?" Tai-Lung argued. Viper huffed.

"Not everything is as it seems, Tai-Lung," Viper _almost _scolded. Tai-Lung grumbled under his breath as Viper slithered over to talk with a vendor.

"I don't understand why you're upset. You don't care, do you?" Po asked.

"I don't! But... let's just get this problem solved," Tai-Lung grumbled as they walked over to the vendor.

"So what's the story of the ghost pirate ship?" Viper asked.

"Legend has it that-"

"Please spare us the details," Tai-Lung growled.

"Basically, this place used to be connected to the sea and ships used to run through it, but since the Yellow River Channel was built, it's been a plain and some of the wrecked ships from the river are still there, haunting our very souls today at nighttimes," The vendor said dramatically, but he glared at Tai-Lung as he went to the back. "Jerk," Tai growled, but Po held him back.

"No fighting, especially when people tell you the truth. I mean, when they're rude," Po jabbed again. The snow leopard glared at the panda before shaking his hands off his person. "For now, we just get a room and wait until the 'ghost pirates' come out," Po said.

Later that night, Tai-Lung, Po, and Viper all rented a room and rested. Tai was still upset about Viper AND the vendor. Po picked up on this as he was reading a scroll that he wouldn't let the others see. "I can understand that fight between you two, but why are you upset about what the vendor said?" Po asked.

"There's a difference between a villain and jerk," Tai-Lung mumbled low beneath his breath.

"Obviously," Po said after a long pause, indicating he didn't understand. Tai rolled his eyes.

"A villain at the very least to his chaos wants to get the respect from the people he's either oppressing or attacking. A jerk doesn't care about that respect and simply annoys the commonfolk, often doing more damage than an actual villain."

"And you want to be..." Po lead on. Tai-Lung sighed.

"I at least want people's respect."

"Save a certain tiger," Viper commented. Tai-Lung looked over to the snake.

"That _Kitten_ needs to learn that I'm not the source of her problems," Tai-Lung answered back, restraining the harshness in his voice.

"Well, you're right there," Po agreed.

"He is?"

"I am?" The two asked. Po smiled at the two.

"What? You didn't think I would have figured out the real problem here?" Po smiled. Tai-Lung's eyes narrowed at the panda.

"You still haven't," He declared.

"No, but I at least know it's not you," Po grinned before yawning and stretching his arms out. "Anyways, let's get some rest. If the pirates come-"

"ARGGGH!" Shouted a voice through the midnight darkness. Po groaned.

"I just wanted a little sleep!" The three shot out of bed, looking towards the plains. In the distance on the foggy plains was the shadowy figure of a boat. Pirate dressed figures started terrorizing people in the streets, looting them of their money. Po ducked as a ghostly pirate bird, white in appearance, zoomed passed his head.

"Okay, so maybe this place is haunted," Viper said.

**Continued...**


	5. A Fool's Trick

A Fool's Trick

* * *

"Come on, let's get a move on," Po urged, jumping out the window with the others in tow.

"Wait, if they're ghosts, we can't touch them," Tai-Lung reasoned, dodging the swings of the ghost pirate's sword. Viper slithered under the phantoms' legs, slithering out of their ghostly hands.

"We'll figure out something," Po shouted, just start punching. The ghosts looked more like-zombie, dirty clothing, glowing swords, and dried blood on their outfits. Their faces looked horrifying to gaze at. Po dodged the swing of the ghost's sword. "AHH! Sharp! Take this!" He punched the ghost in the face.

"OW!" Shouted the ghost as he tumbled back.

"Wait, ghosts don't feel pain. They can't be punched either," Po said, glaring at the shivering ghost as he scurried away. Tai-Lung caught the sword of one of the ghost when he suddenly, quite by accident, broke it like a wooden stick.

"What the... this isn't a real sword," Tai-Lung exclaimed. The ghosts suddenly looked nervous.

"ARGH! RETREAT!" Shouted the lead ghost as they all hurried away into the plains.

"After them!" Po shouted. They raced after the ghosts through the thick fog that was over the rice plains. They tried to keep track of them, but they were gone. So was the ghostly figure of the boat as the fog started to clear and the sun rose up. "Okay... that was weird."

"Let's go back and see what the villagers can tell us," Tai-Lung proposed. When they got back, however, an angry mob was there to greet them. "What the?"

"What's wrong?"

"You tried to stop the ghosts!" Shouted the vendor. The three looked at each other.

"I thought you wanted the ghosts gone," Po argued.

"Gone? They're our source of income! The sightings of ghosts in the village give the village a large amount of tourism from all around." the vendor exclaimed. Tai-Lung was about to storm up to the vendor, but Po stopped him.

"Huh, I guess you're right," Po said with a smirk, "Of course, if the ghosts were gone, who would you have to fear then? Not being as touristy... or someone else?" The crowd's eyes shifted around, nervous whispers weaseled out. Po walked up to the vendor, "Whoever is doing this, we'll find out and make them stop taking advantage of you. But you have to tell us where to start." Po whispered. The vendor looked at the crowd.

"Stay out of this village and never come back!" The vendor shouted as the crowd agreed, going away after that declaration. "Stay in the rice paddies. Wait until the fog comes up and the pirates start attacking. Follow the ship's light." He whispered to them. With that, he left them.

"So someone is holding them hostage," Tai-Lung guessed.

"Or ruling over them to get the money," Po proposed. "We'll have to wait until night time. Sooooo, you and Viper can talk while I do some shopping," Po smiled as he left the two before Tai-Lung could say anything else. He turned to see the snake's glare and she simply slithered towards the rice paddies. The snow leopard groaned in annoyance.

"Listen, I'm sorry I was rude," he finally apologized. "But with everything that is going on in the palace, do you really blame me? I'm not exactly the clean innocent person around here."

"Has it ever occurred to you that we know what you're going through," Viper asked. This, again, shocked the snow leopard.

"Uh... no." Viper stopped where she was, looking at the ground in front of her.

"When Po first came, we isolated him more than you could ever imagine. Plus, I know what it is like to be alone."

"I don't _need_ anyone," Tai-Lung stated firmly.

"But do you _want_ anyone?" Viper asked. Tai-Lung didn't reply. "You are like Tigress in many ways you know." That seemed to be an insult to the snow leopard, judging by the scoffing and degrading snarl.

"And how is that?" Tai-Lung asked.

"You both think that by bearing things alone you'll be strong. And you're not," She said very bluntly and almost rudely. "But Po is willing to be vulnerable to gain true strength. Think about it, Tai. What is harder? Being the warrior everyone expects," She said pointing to Tai-Lung, "Or being the warrior no one wanted?" With that, she slithered away to the paddies, leaving the snow leopard to himself.

* * *

The three regrouped at the rice paddies. They laid in one of the dry ditches beside the paddies. Nighttime came, and the three were waiting for something. "How did you learn about this village?" Tai-Lung whispered over to Po.

"What do you mean?"

"This would have kept going on and on and the villagers didn't seem like they were really _willing_ to send for help," Tai-Lung said.

"Either that or they couldn't in fear for their lives," Viper added.

"But how did you know about this?" Tai asked.

"I'll explain later," The panda said as the ghostly mist started to thicken into fog over the paddies and the shadowy figure of the ship shown. A loud clanking and stomping sounded across the paddies as Po and the others could see people dressing up in make-up and putting on costumes in order to become the 'ghosts' of the paddies. "Well, now we know who they are."

"They look like royal guards to me," Tai-Lung observed. Po looked up at the ship. It was much closer to them than they thought. But there something weird about it. There was some kind of light behind it. Suddenly, it all made sense to Po.

"Come on, follow me," Po whispered over to them as they quickly and quietly made their way over paddies. They went over to a small mountain with a large cave inside of it. A large beacon of light was being shown from inside the cave. Tai-Lung slowly looked inside and nearly burst out laughing.

"Well, now we know where the ship went," He smirked. There before them was a huge fire with mirrors around it to reflect the light. In front of the light was the carving of a pirate boat, right in the middle. Po huffed.

"I wanted a _real_ pirate boat," He pouted. "Anyways, let's see who's up to this." The three passed the light and headed into the well-lit cave. They finally got to a wooden door, opening up to stairs. They walked up to the stairs, coming to another door that opened up to a large treasury office, filled with coins, loot, and what seemed like tax bags. "Wait a minute, if we went this way, then that would mean... we're in one of the official's houses!" Suddenly, a noise of two men started coming to the room they were in. "HIDE!" They hid amongst the wealth and knick-knack hidden in the room as the door opened up. In walked a huge Rhino with regal clothing. A pompous, haughty look glazed his face as he looked at his wealth and gold with a dissatisfied glance. His follower, the vendor that Po and the others had first met.

"And you say that this is all that came from tourism," The Rhino asked in a very proper tongue. His tone was heavy and consequential. If the vendor spoke out of turn, it would probably be his last turn.

"Yes, Councilor Re-Di," The vendor answered. Re-Di picked up a handful of the gold and shifted it in his hand with examining expertise. He threw it at the vendor.

"This is nothing! Your village is holding back!"

"I promise that this is everything from the sales," The vendor said, dropping to his knees and pleading.

"Then why were some of my guards telling about an incident with some outside warriors?" Re-Di questioned, glancing at him with a slightly disgusted look.

"They were just tourists. Nothing more! They said they were sent to help-"

"And what did you say!" Re-Di growled, picking the vendor up by the neck.

"We didn't tell them anything! We forced them to leave!" The vendor exclaimed. Re-Di seemed like he was calmly contemplating about crushing his windpipe or letting him go.

"Good," The rhino finally said after a minute or so, dropping the duck. "And did they seem important? I don't want anyone knowing about this operation."

"They didn't. Just a snake, a snow leopard, and a panda."

"A PANDA!" The rhino shouted, knocking the duck back onto his rump. "You fool! That could have been the Dragon Warrior."

"And it was," Po said, coming out of hiding, surprising the two. Tai-Lung quickly grabbed the vendor away from the Rhino as Re-Di back up into a corner. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I promise you, Dragon Warrior," Re-Di nervously stuttered, all of his self-righteous pride seemed to ebb away. "All of this is a huge misunderstanding."

"You're creating a tourist attraction AND overtaxing the subjects AND Robbing them with the said tourist attraction," Tai-Lung recalled.

"Okay, so you do understand," Re-Di muttered.

"It's over Re-Di," Po stated, not noticing the guards coming back from their 'raid'. The Rhino smirked.

"I don't think so," He grinned, snapping his fingers as the guards started attacking.

**Continued...**


	6. It's All A Trick

It's All An Act

* * *

"I just don't understand why? You have all of the taxes you could collect from. Why want more?" Tai-Lung asked as he readied his stance.

"Hm, sound familiar Tai?"

"Shut up, Po."

"You should know that money is power. And with the more money I have, the more power I get," Re-Di said, about to exit the room. Viper quickly darted over to him, wrapping around his feet, making him fall to the ground.

"Get them!" Po shouted as Tai-Lung and Po quickly finished the guards surrounding them. The rhino tried to grab the snake off of his feet, but then Viper quickly got to his hands and wrapped around them. He bit down on her, causing her to release him. As he was about to get up, Po and Tai-Lung stopped him in his tracks. "Don't make this any more difficult," Po said as Tai-Lung wrapped a rope around Re-Di's hands. "Now let's get going," Po said. As they exited the house, Po spotted a small glowing rock that seemed familiar to him. "Sand-Fire stone, where did you get that?" Po asked the rhino.

"As I would tell-" Viper quickly slithered up the Rhino's body, wrapped her body around his throat and glared menacingly into his eyes.

"He asked you a question punk! Talk!" Viper hissed. Though intimidating, Tai-Lung couldn't help but chuckle a bit by the snake's tone. It sounded like an sweet mother getting her 'tough' voice on.

"Ah! Some other officials told me about this seller! Lu-Chang!"

"Who are the officials?" Po asked, giving him a pen and paper. As Re-Di started writing them down, Tai-Lung smirked at the snake.

"What was that about?" He said, addressing the snake's change in attitude. Viper simply smirked.

"There is one thing I learned from you, Tai-Lung," She smirked. "Don't be afraid of taking advantage of the disadvantaged."

"I... I never said anything like that," Tai-Lung grunted.

"But you've done it multiple times," Viper smirked at the grumbling snow leopard. Po just laughed.

When daytime came, Re-Di was wheeled off into a royal guard cart and the town clapped and cheered for Po, Viper, and Tai-Lung. "Thank you so much for riding us of that oppressive monster," The vendor graciously said.

"It was our pleasure," Po smiled, bowing to them.

"Maybe you could still use the props from the Ghost Ship Attraction. Just... don't steal from the customers," Tai-Lung conditioned.

"Ah, but that's what tourism is: formal robbery," The vendor joked. Po and the others waved goodbye and traveled back to the Jade Palace. It was quiet, but not uncomfortably so. Viper had a smile on her face and Po seemed to enjoy the peace, but Tai-Lung seemed to be upset.

"What's wrong with you?" Po asked. Tai groaned.

"I... umm... ugh I can't believe I'm doing this," Tai-Lung grumbled. He cleared his throat. "Um... Master Viper," He started very properly. "When we get back if it's okay with you... could we... um... spare with each other?" Viper looked at Tai-Lung, greatly surprised. Tai-Lung didn't dare look at the over-excited, bouncy, giddy panda that seemed to be glad he heard the words that Tai-Lung spoke. Viper smiled.

"You don't have to if-"

"I want to," Tai-Lung beat her to it. Viper smiled wider.

"Very well, Tai-Lung. I'll enjoy that," The snake replied. Tai-Lung glanced at Po, who had the largest smile the snow leopard had ever seen.

"Don't say it-"

"It's happening!" Po said in a high-pitched voice. Tai-Lung groaned with a roll of his eyes as they continued back to the Jade Palace. "But why bother?"

"To be honest," Tai-Lung said, whispering to Po, "She's the kindest out of all the warriors here. It wouldn't be right to anger her just because of some _other_ person."

"And?"

"And she said something that made a little sense to me... about you," Tai-Lung slowly said, a small smile creeping onto his face. He suddenly shook his head and snarled at the panda. "Don't think I-"

"It doesn't matter, right?" Po smirked very smug grin. Tai huffed, but simply nodded his head as they traveled back to the Jade Palace.

* * *

Po was sitting at the start of the stairs of the Jade Palace. The two felines were starting up their usual fight, but at this point, Po was starting to find a coping mechanism. He sighed as he looked up at the sky. Suddenly, the familiar flapping of a bird's wings caught his attention. "Did the kids break something again," Po asked rhetorically to Crane.

"Well, how would I know?" Said an unfamiliar voice. Po spun his head around and saw a familiar mysterious duck.

"Jai-Ling?"

"Hello, panda. Did you like that mission with the ship I gave you?" The mysterious duck asked with a kind old smile.

"Yeah, and we rounded up all of the bad officials. There was a lot of them. But why are you sending me to these places? What is the point?" Po asked. The duck tilted his head a bit, looking at the panda.

"You've dealt all your life without knowing what, who, or why. It seems like a bad idea to start now, doesn't it?" Jai-Ling asked smiled. Po huffed in irritation as the duck gave him a scroll. "I'll be needing you to resurrect your acting abilities. You'll need to meet up with Lu-Chang again. That is... if your... female feline 'friend' will allow it," The duck smirked.

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll see what I mean," The duck grinned, flapping his wings and going away. Po sighed, holding his head as it pained him to figure out what was going on. He walked over into the courtyard where Tai-Lung and Tigress were going at it again. Tigress stood with her arms crossed as she glared at his irritating grin.

"Ah, Grandmaster Po. I need you to settle a dispute between the Kitten and me," Tai-Lung murmured hatefully towards the striped tiger. Po groaned.

"You know, it's times like these that make me glad that Master Shifu isn't here," Po grumbled. That caught both of the felines off guard.

"Why?" Tigress asked. Po suddenly glared her, not in strong anger, but in slight annoyance as he passed them both as he spoke.

"Because knowing him, he would make this situation a whole lot worse," Po muttered, "I want you two to be ready when I come out. We have a mission. I'll get Viper and we'll be on our way," He said as he left to get Viper.

"That panda is full of surprises," Tai-Lung commented. He was surprised Po was being so assertive AND blunt. "I'm actually surprised that you're as close to him as you are, Kitten." Tigress, though irritated by the snow leopard's presence and statement, she was curious as to why he would say that.

"Why?"

"With the number of surprises and secrets he has about himself, I wouldn't think that you two would have much in common," Tai-Lung noted quite derisively. Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Po isn't that complicated to figure out, and he doesn't keep that many secrets... ones that are really surprising anyway," Tigress mumbled.

"Oh? Name one?"

"His favorite color, in awesomeness order. His favorite Kung Fu move. His private collection of master action figures, all 45 of them-"

"I said one," Tai-Lung grunted in annoyance.

"Like I said, Po doesn't keep secrets, nor is there anything huge or major that he's keeping from us. And if he is, it's for our own good," Tigress said sternly. The snow leopard grinned mockingly, further irritating the tiger.

"Hmm," The snow leopard hummed, obviously doubt it a bit. "Then you would know who his first kill was, wouldn't you?" Tigress growled since they both didn't know who that was, but the rivalry was dispared when Po and Viper returned.

The panda and team found the Siamese cat in a far off bar, sadly looking at her glass. "Huh, this is the last place I thought I would see her," Po mentioned.

"We'll try our best to blend in with the crowd," Tai-Lung said, "Good luck, lover." The snow leopard teased as Tigress and Viper mingled among the people. Po breathed in and out as he approached Lu-Chang.

"Hello, Mrs. Lu-Chang. Do you remember me? It's Lee," Po said with a formal bow. The cat immediately stood up and slapped Po across the face. "Ow! What the-"

"That's not what your name is! You're the Dragon Warrior!" She sternly yet quietly muttered. "And you played me like a fool." Po knew he was found out, but he slowly sat down next to her. She scooted away, but she didn't leave. "Why are you here? Do you want to make a bigger fool out of me?"

"How did you figure out?"

"Oh! When all of my sellers went away, or maybe because I asked around your village and figured out that way!" Lu-Chang grunted. Po felt bad.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make a fool out of you. I was just doing what I do," Po said sincerely. Though she was a criminal, Po still felt as if there was some kind of good in her.

"Then why not tackle me down and treat me like another villain?" Lu-Chang asked. Po gently rested his hand on hers.

"Because I don't think you're like other villains." Po smiled. Tigress, Tai, and Viper watched from the other side of the room.

"This panda has more charm than I do," Tai-Lung commented.

"You have charm?" Viper smirked.

"Just because you won that **one** sparring match doesn't mean you get to push me around," Tai-Lung sternly scowled, glaring at the snake.

"You beat him? And you didn't tell me? Why?" Tigress asked her snake companion, surprised she didn't an opportunity to belittle Tai-Lung.

"And perpetuate the everlasting war between you and him? I don't think so," Viper grinned at the two felines, making both of them have a sour face.

"What do you want Po?" Lu-Chang asked, shaking her hand away from him yet blushing at the contact.

"I wanted to see if you would do I job with me," Po offered.

"If it's to do some goody-two shoes stunt, count me out."

"Lu-Chang, something tells me that you weren't exactly given the choice of being a criminal," Po said tenderly. He smirked. "And this particular deal will help you get rid of some unwanted rivals." Lu-Chang rose her eyebrow.

"What do you want?" Lu-Chang asked.

**Continued...**


	7. Mr Bones

Mr. Bones

* * *

"I need someone with your kind of expertise to eliminate the Gong Gang," Po said quite seriously, but Lu-Chang laughed.

"You know that the Gong Gang is the leading gang in the Chinese world, right? There's no way that I can get you with one of them, let alone all three."

"I know, but you may not need to get me with all three of them. Just get me with one of the lower sections," Po said. Lu-Chang looked at him with a doubtful glance, eyeing him up and down.

"You don't look like much of a villain, panda," Lu-Chang muttered.

"Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it," Po smiled as he motioned his friends... and Tai-Lung to come over. "Just tell us where to meet you." Lu-Chang looked at Po with a very doubtful glare, but the panda's smile convinced her.

"Fine. Meet me at the corner of the Han village."

"Will do!" Po smiled as he got up to leave.

"Oh and panda! You owe me for that little stunt you pulled with me," Lu-Chang snarled. Po turned around and smirked.

"It's a date," He simply said, leaving the cat blushing and flustered. They left the tavern and Tai-Lung smirked at the panda. "What?"

"So you do have a thing for the cat," Tai-Lung said. This got a reaction from Tigress.

"Stop teasing him, Tai-Lung," She growled lowly. "Po's not in any kind of relationship with Lu-Chang." Po looked at her confused.

"Actually, I was serious about that date thing, Tigress."

"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed. Po couldn't help but notice the tiger's ears drooped a bit.

"Why?"

"Well, like I said. She doesn't seem like the person that really wants to be a villain. Just a person that wants to get by. I understand that."

"And you're going to date her after one _very_ bad experience?" Tai-Lung asked. Po shrugged his shoulders.

"I think it would be nice. It would be a nice change for Po," Viper said with a bright smile, "From the pit of agony he's suffering with you two." She muttered, making the two felines feel hurt.

"Whoa, and I thought Mantis was the blunt one," Po muttered. Tigress shook her shock away.

"So how are we going to transform you into a villain?" She asked.

"Lu-Chang is right," Tai-Lung smirked. "You don't look much like a villain," Po smirked back at him.

"Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet." Po grinned.

Nighttime came. Tai-Lung and Tigress were walking down to the noodle shop where they were supposed to meet Po and Viper. Tai-Lung had a cocky smirk on his face which irritated Tigress. "What?"

"Oh, this smirk is not for you, Kitten. It's for Po. I can't wait to see what kind of horrible mess he is." Tai-Lung said as they approached the shop. "But I am interested as to why you seem to get so... upset about him _dating_ the cat." Tigress was completely silent for that. When they got there, Viper was outside looking into the shop was a shocked and slightly horrified face.

"Viper, what's wrong?" Tigress asked. The snake pointed to the inside where Po was. Both cats were shocked at what they saw.

"Whoa," Tai-Lung simply said. Po wore dark eyeshadow make-up to make his eyes appear sunken in a bit. His head had a Chinese worker straw hat on. His left cheek had a long well-made scar while around his neck sat a necklace of pig, duck, bunny skulls with an antelope sulk in the middle. He wore the same kind of tattered patched pants, but they were completely black, just like the black gloves that he slipped onto his hands. The gloves had specially made talons on the ends of his digits. He held a cane that seemed like wood but clanked around like metal in one of his hands.

"Po, you look, terrifying," Viper said. Po smiled a very toothy grin. The three could see the panda's newly sharpened teeth. "How did you get all of this stuff?"

"I just know some people," Po smiled. "Come on, we have to find Lu-Chang."

"How can we trust her?" Tigress asked.

"We don't, we use her," Tai-Lung said emotionlessly.

"It's nothing like that," Po said to both of them. "You don't have to trust her. Just trust that I know what I'm doing." Po started going out of the shop, but then he stopped. "Also, I'm going to need you around my neck, Viper. For added effect. Just whatever you do, don't speak!"

"Oh, okay." Viper said, gently wrapping loosely around his neck. "Whoa, it's kind of hard to get around your neck with this necklace." Po nodded. They met up with Lu-Chang who was equally surprised.

"Well, I like the outfit. You two will have to stay outside," Lu-Chang said. They were stationed outside of a small solitary house outside the Han Village.

"We'll just peep in and look through the window," Tai-Lung dismissively said.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Tigress said to Po.

"I am, and whatever happens, just remember I'm pretending," Po said with a goofy smile. Tigress sighed, rubbing the top of her nose.

"It won't be hard to know," Tigress muttered as Lu-Chang and Po went inside of the house. "This isn't going to work."

"You know that I know that, but the panda is determined... or stupid. Hard to tell with him," Tai-Lung smirked as they watched through a small little window in the back of the house. Po entered in with Lu-Chang and saw that the house had four dangerous-looking gorilla bandits.

"I've brought the guy I said wanted to meet you. He's very eager to-"

"We'll see about that," One of the gorillas said getting up and walking over to him. He swatted off the panda's hat. Po seemed unmoved by the action, even though it got some laughs from the other bandits. "And who are you suppose to be? Some weird wannabe panda trying to get respect? Ooh, I'm so scared." the bandit laughed. "What makes you think you can join our ranks, tubby."

"This isn't going good," Tigress sighed turning away from the window. Suddenly, everyone's attention snapped to the room as Po grabbed the bandit by the neck, lifting him up into the air until he slammed him back down onto the ground, pinning the gorilla by the neck.

"There are about 7 bones in your neck alone," Po said in a deep grizzly voice. "Snapping anyone of them would result in paralysis or death. But being me, I would like to see you tortured before you die." He slowly put pressure on the gorilla's neck.

"Hey, get off of-" Before another gorilla could lay a hand on him, Po shot up, grabbed him by the neck and threw him over to the table, smashing it into pieces. Po placed his cane on the first gorilla's neck.

"A puncture here would leave you gasping for breath that would never return to your lungs," Po slowly said with a kind of disgusted and superior glare.

"Okay, okay, you've proven that you're tough enough to join the Gong Gang."

"Join? Oh, I'm not in it to join you," Po said with a closed mouth evil smirk. "I'm here to give you... new management," Po replied, picking up his hat and giving it to Viper who placed it back on his head for him. Po sat down in a spare chair.

"Okay, so you can rough us up a bit, you can't just come in here and throw us around," Said the third gorilla pointedly at him. "Why I ought to-" Po quickly and effortlessly grabbed his finger placing him into the Wuxi Finger Hold.

"Do you know this hold?" Po asked with a chilling grin.

"I... It's the Wuxi Finger Hold!" The gorilla said, frightened for his life.

"Po wouldn't dare," Tai-Lung said, horrified that the panda could change his attitude so easily. The panda slowly rose a finger but quickly switching the form of his hand.

"Yes, but what people don't know is that it can easily change into the lesser-known Maxi Finger hold," Po said switching his hand a bit.

"AAAAHHH!" The gorilla screamed, dropping to his knees, shivering in fear and agony.

"The most painful finger hold known to China." Po devilishly chuckled. He knocked the gorilla back with his cane, relieving the gorilla of the pain and his hold. Viper's eyes stuck on wide witnessed the horror unfolding before her. A villain of nightmares, Po was starting to play the part quite well.

"Okay, you're the boss," the fourth gorilla wisely said. "What do you want from us, boss?"

"Ah, I never like the title 'boss'," The panda grumbled, hissing at the word. "I'll let you use my official name."

"And what's that?" the first gorilla asked, trembling.

"Bones. Mr. Bones," Po said, grinning and showing his sharpened teeth.

**Continued...**


	8. Mr Bones' reign

Mr. Bones' Reign.

* * *

Everyone inside and outside of the room was terrified. Po, the lovable panda that they knew had changed almost miraculously into the ruthless new villain that called himself, Mr. Bones. Viper witnessed it up close since she hung around his neck. "Who's the snake?"

"Ah, this is my little darling, Gin," Po said with a strangely calming tone, petting Viper's head. "She doesn't talk much though." Viper tried her best to act natural, hissing pleasantly at the panda's patting.

"Why not?"

"Well, she has a good reason not to, since I cut off her brother's tongue. Mmm, I tell you boys, snake tongue is a very... tasty treat," Po grinned evilly.

"I'm going to sick," Tai-Lung struggled, trying to hold his dinner down. "Where is he coming up with this stuff?"

"I... I don't know... I don't want to know," Tigress shivered. Po stood up and walked around, surveying the place.

"You... you ate the tongue?" The gorilla stuttered the question.

"Oh, I've eaten a lot of the body parts of my enemies and people who I just didn't like," Po smiled in an unnerving manner. "The wing of an eagle, the tail of a deer, the tail of a snow leopard was quite tasty."

"Why do I have a feeling that was directed towards me," Tai-Lung muttered, thinking about the first fight that Po and Tai had when he bit his own tail.

"Why would it be directed towards you?" Tigress asked.

"Nevermind."

"But enough of the delicacies. I want to meet your bosses. The Gong Gang leaders."

"They... They would never listen to us!" One of the gorillas said, knowing how impossible it would be. Po seemed displeased. "We ccould get you to meet with one of them! I promise we can do that!" The gorilla quickly said as Po slowly walked over to him, glaring at his face. A grin graced his face.

"That will do fine," Po said as he began walking out the door with Lu-Chang. "And remember boys, if I don't hear from Lu-Chang that you've gathered at least one of the leaders, I will figure out how boiled gorilla hands tastes like. MMmwahhhahahahaha. HAHAHA HAHAHA!" Po evilly cackled as he walked out the door, leaving the gorillas stunned in fear. Po walked a bit until they were out of earshot from the house. "Whew, that was interesting," Po smiled his old cheery self. He suddenly saw Viper's tail waving in front of him. "Um, Viper."

"What... was... that," Viper asked, springing off of his neck. "You were... ruthless."

"I have to say, panda, you really convinced me that you were a villain. The most cannibalistic one that I've seen," Lu-Chang commented as Tai-Lung and Tigress joined them.

"Yeah, well. I did a lot of acting when I younger," Po explained with a happy smile. "But playing Mr. Bones has always been a hard thing to do."

"Really? We didn't notice," Tai-Lung muttered under his breath.

"Well, it's actually very-"

"He was being sarcastic Po." Tigress interrupted.

"Oh."

"But that performance was... really unnerving, Po. Where did you... come up with that character?" Tigress asked slowly. Po started noticing everyone's unease.

"Guys, come on. You know that's not me. Mr. Bones is just a persona I'm doing. The best way to get the villains out of hiding was to convince them that I am one. Now for the next meeting, I'm going to need you to not be there, Viper. It will sell the bit."

"What are you trying to get them to do?" Tai-Lung asked.

"If they think that someone is muscling in on their turf and they think it's someone big, they'll come together and try to stop me," Po explained.

"And when they do, you'll have them right where you want them. Okay, but what if they call your bluff," Tai-Lung asked. Po tilted his head in confusion. "I don't expect you to kill them."

"No, but that's the great part about Mr. Bones. He doesn't like just outright killing someone, but tormenting them," Po said with a very chilling calmness. He noticed their fear again. "Guys, what are you so afraid of? It's me! Po?"

"Yeah, we're just wondering if we know Po well enough," Tai-Lung said. The panda rolled his eyes.

"I'm a good actor. Don't think any differently of me." Po said as they walked back to the Jade Palace. Viper slithered back and whispered to the two felines.

"If you two even think of arguing again, I'm pretty sure that Mr. Bones can turn on you two." Viper warned. Though the panda they knew wouldn't do such a thing, they weren't so sure about _what_ they knew about the panda.

* * *

Word of Mr. Bones traveled fast. Po had the opportunity to eliminate and imprison other gangs in the process, much faster and quicker than if he were just the Dragon Warrior. "Working underground will help you understand how the top ground should look like," He said once. In all, he had arrested and scared to purity seven rival gangs and he was gaining more and more through his small following. This is what caused the leaders of the Gong Gang to notice him. So one of them set up a meeting with him. Monkey, Mantis, and Crane didn't believe Tigress, Tai, and Viper when they described Po's persona of Mr. Bones. So at the next meeting, they tagged along, besides, Po could use the extra security. Lu-Chang met up with Po just outside of an old factory house just outside of the Han Village. "Thank you for all your help, Lu-Chang. I owe you... just... nothing illegal okay?" Po chuckled nervously. The cat looked at the panda, still mystified that the panda could change from that nervous giddy and go-lucky panda to the ultimate lunatic of a villain, Mr. Bones.

"I'll keep that in mind." The cat simply replied.

"So what's your plan if the leader starts to figure you out?" Tigress asked. Po thought about it for a moment.

"You haven't thought about that?" Tai-Lung muttered.

"Hey, I'm making this up as I go," Po said, putting on his necklace of skulls. "It's been working so far."

"No, it hasn't!" Everyone said. Po rolled his eyes as he put his hat on.

"Stay out of sight. Keep a lookout for each other. If anyone sees you, keep them from alarming the leader."

"And if we can't?"

"Then I'll figure out something," Po shrugged. The team dispersed as Lu-Chang and Po went inside. Before Po was his own loyal gorilla bandits and unfamiliar Rhino AND wolf bandits. In the middle was a large black male wolf with a clean-cut nature about him. He gently sipped his tea as he offered Po a seat. The panda breathed in and then his evil almost sadistically smirk shown as he walked confidently in.

"Well, that was an interesting change," Monkey mentioned as they peeked through the small windows.

"Mr. Bones I presume," The wolf introduced formally.

"Yes, and I have yet to know your name. Your bandits are very-"

"Private and respectful about my name?" The wolf guessed.

"I was going to say clueless," Po said plainly, deflating the wolf's pride. "So who do I have the pleasure of meeting today?"

"Ming," the wolf simply said. Po's eyes widened, but his smirk widened as well as he laughed aloud.

"The famous and 'purity' Ming Wolf! Haha! I figured it was the M brothers running the Gong Gang," Po grinned. Ming glared at the panda.

"How?"

"Everyone has their weaknesses. You and your brothers, with all the meekness that you talk about while running that temple of yours, you all need money. More than the people you're serving can give," Po smirked. The M brothers, as Po called them, were a group of temple leaders in the local area. They ran a temple prized for their purity and sanctity of the temple. However, while their temple may have been elaborately decorated, their funds were drastically low. As much as the villagers prized their temple, they never actually _prized_ their service _to _the temple. So the M brothers, seeing it as a cycle of Yin-Yang or Karma, took the matter of funds in their own hands. They **also** became quite fierce in their pursuits.

Po was truly surprised, but it made sense for him. It didn't make sense that a gang would be so close to a temple and _not_ rob from it. Ming gently set his cup down.

"Well, Mr. Bones. I think you'll be glad to know that we welcome your presence here," Ming said with a small smile on his face. Po knew he was up to something, but the didn't know what as he took his tea and was about to sip it. Then he stopped. He sniffed and laughed.

"Your men aren't as bright as you think they are," Po slowly, looking at the tea's content.

"Oh? And why is that?" Ming asked, his smile disappearing as he noticed the panda not taking the tea.

"I cook very often. Most of them being the body parts of my enemies," Po said with an emotionless face. He gently poured the tea into Ming's, shocking the wolf. "Here, taste your own medicine." Po grinned evilly.

"The tea was poisoned?" Monkey questioned, "But how did Po know that?"

"I," The wolf swallowed hard, "I think I'll pass."

"Hehe, you really think that you could get by with putting nutmeg in my drink. Obviously too much of it, which can cause a man to hallucinate and die," Po calmly said, looking at his hand casually. Po got up and walked over to the sitting wolf. "So why don't you taste it. I heard it's good for the brain," Po grinned evilly as he held the cup to the wolf's lips. The wolf pushed it out, causing the cup to spill onto the ground. "Tsk, tsk. Such a waste of perfectly good tea."

"What do you want, Mr. Bones?" Ming asked, impatiently.

"I want a kind of... inheritance, Mr. Ming. From you and the brothers of your entire operation," Po said, sitting back down. The nervous look on the wolf soon turned one of jealousy and anger.

"You're joking," Ming said humorously. "Why would I just give you my gang over?" Po's eyebrow rose.

"Your gang? Huh, that's interesting, your brother Mung said the same thing when I talked to him," Po lied. Lu-Chang glanced at Po briefly.

"Oh? He did," Ming rose his eyebrow. "What did he say?"

"Let's not worry about that," Po sighed, leaning back in his chair. Suddenly, two Rhino guards, Ming's men, took hold of Po's shoulders.

"I pardon my men, Mr. Bones. They are... very stubborn in making sure that my person isn't damaged," Ming slowly smirked. The wolf saw the panda's men slowly step back. "And I see that your men aren't as loyal as you think."

"Oh, that's not why they're stepping back," Po grinned in an unnerving fashion as Lu-Chang stepped back. "They just know that if they were any closer... they would be hurt."

**Continued...**


	9. The end of Mr Bones

The End of Mr. Bones.

* * *

Po quickly grabbed the two rhinos, flipped them onto the table, breaking the table. While their hands were still in his hands, Po twisted them, causing the rhinos' hands to crack a bit.

"AHHH!" They screamed in pain. Po suddenly grabbed one of them by the throat and threw them at the incoming guards behind him. Po darted to one of the shocked guards, punched them hard in the gut, causing him to double over in pain. Po grabbed the rhino by the tusk, spun him around, knocking the guards on their backs and throwing the guard past a horrified Ming. Po grabbed Ming, lifted him up by his throat, choking him as he slammed him down to the ground.

"Please Spare ME!" Ming wheezed out. Monkey and Mantis were about to bust inside to stop Po, but Tigress and Tai-Lung stopped them.

"Are you crazy?! Po's clearly lost it!"

"Trust me, it will be fine," Tai-Lung said to them, "I hope."

"You know, I've tasted a few things of my enemies," Po growled with a hideous devious smirk. "I've tasted the tongue of a snake, the tail of a snow leopard, and even the delicacies such as the delicious private flower of a female tiger." The team outside immediately looked at Tigress. She spluttered to an answer, visibly flustered.

"He's bluffing, of course!" Tigress growled, shocked that the team would think such a thing.

"We reeeaally hope so, Kitten. Otherwise, you have some major things to explain," Tai-Lung said, more in shock than in a teasing manner.

"But I never ever tasted the 'knot' of a wolf," Po grinned menacingly to the paralyzed wolf.

"Viper, my bag please," Tai-Lung groaned, hurling his dinner into the bag.

"Can I have it afterward?" Crane asked, feeling very woozy all of a sudden.

"Wh..whwh what do you want?" Ming stuttered.

"I want all of your brothers in one place so I can make my... rule official. By tomorrow night, do you understand?" Po asked, tightening his grip on the wolf's neck.

"YES!" Ming wheezed out. Po released his grip on him and grabbed his cane that was left on the floor.

"Good, we'll meet up here," Po calmly reminded him as he and Lu-Chang started leaving, "Oh and... make sure that you're not followed. I have friends in prison that can very well get me out of it. And you don't want to make an enemy of me. Heheheheh HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Po laughed devilishly as he and Lu-Chang left. They met up with the Furious Five and Tai-Lung. "Well, that close. They nearly saw through my act," Po sighed in relief with his normal smile.

"Okay, you were frightening Po. Where did you come up with the idea for that character?" Monkey asked. Po looked up in remembrance.

"Well, when I was young and trying to figure out who I was, I used to be an actor, a pretty good one from what people told me."

"Why did you stop?"

"Eh, I didn't feel like it was my true calling," Po shrugged. "But the character for Mr. Bones came from a skit I did. The background was about a man that was driven mad and cruel by being beaten and bullied all of his life. One day, he snapped and started killing his enemies. He was supposed to be crazy, but I couldn't do a very convincing crazy villain, so I added the cannibalism in there to make it _naturally_ villainy."

"Okay, so where did the bit with the tiger's... you know, come in?" Tai-Lung accused. Po only looked at him with a smirk. "Oh my goodness."

"Was it, Tigress?"

"NO!" Tigress shouted in a growl, irritated by the question. But even she was curious. "But who was it, Po?"

"An actor can't reveal all of his secrets," Po smiled cheekily as they went back to the Jade Palace. Tigress angrily glared at the panda.

The next day came and the wolves were all nervously grouped around each other, sitting at a round circle. "I'm telling you, this guy means business."

"You're overthinking this Ming," Mong, the eldest brother said, "The moment he comes in, we just jump him and his men. He can't take on all of us." Suddenly, there was a loud commotion from outside. The sounds of hard blows and swinging crashes sounded. Then there was eerie silence. The door opened to reveal Mr. Bones, calmly coming in with Lu-Chang.

"Good evening, gentlemen. I took the liberty of... alleviating your guards from their duties," Po creepily smiled, leaving a mess of defeated and mauled guards outside as he shut the door behind him.

"But how!" Mong exclaimed.

"I have skills AND powerful friends," Po hissed as he walked up to them. The wolves were scared stiff in their chairs.

"Ww... we're sorry for... inconveniencing you, Mr. Bones," Ming apologized in shaking fear.

"It's quite alright," Po slowly chortled. "I enjoy other activity than simply torturing and playing with my... food," Po smirked.

"What do you want, our leadership, or our money?" Mung, the young asked.

"Neither," Po replied. "All I want to know is how you two did it. Such, elegant 'priests' as yourselves couldn't have simply just gone into my area of expertise," Po questioned, looking down at the wolves at the table. "Your ties, your connections, where are they?"

"Here, here are all of them," Ming said, presenting a long scroll for him. Po lightly took it up. "Um... my guards mentioned something about a snake around your neck."

"Ah, Gin. Well, she's no longer with us, I'm afraid. She spoke out of turn and-"

"It's alright, we don't need to know, Mr. Bones. That's your private business," Ming said quickly, lowering his head. Po gazed at Ming with a nasty death eye. "I'm sorry, Mr. Bones for talking out of turn. It won't happen again."

"Good," Po growled with a glint of deep rage of annoyance.

"So what do you want?" Mong stuttered.

"Well, I'll be honest. I was... surprised to hear that someone had muscled in near my old territory. And when I figured out it was you three, I had to find a way to... reduce the competition."

"We'll get out of the game as quickly as possible if you want," The M Brothers pleaded. Po snapped his fingers and ten Rhino soldiers appeared.

"I know you will because these nice gentlemen are going to take you to jail, where I won't have to worry about you," Po smirked. Then his face turned serious. "But if you even think about trying to escape that prison, I'll have three new skulls to add to my collection. Understand?" The M brothers nodded vigorously. "Good, take them away, boys." The rhinos silently nodded as they took the wolves out in handcuffs. Mr. Bones made his way out and behind the old warehouse. Po gave a breath of relief as the Furious Five, Tai-Lung and the local official, a large pig celebrated mission.

"You have been a great help to us, Mr. Bones," The pig said.

"Please, call me Po," The panda said as he took off his hand and make-up.

"I will say that you were very terrifying to them. I don't they'll **want** to see the light of day again."

"Let's hope so," Po smiled as the official went away with the other guards. "Come on, guys. Let's go home."

"Just one question, Po." Lu-Chang ventured. "How did you know that I would be able to help you find the Gong Gang leaders?" Po smiled.

"Little birdie told me," Po replied.

"Zeng?"

"No," Po answered Monkey, rolling his eyes. "It's a secret. Anyways, thank you for helping us, Lu-Chang. What will you do now?"

"Well, since I've become the messenger of the infamous Mr. Bones, I don't think that many people will try to fight me. I think I'll take it easy, settle down a bit. Or maybe try and clean up crime like you do," Lu-Chang smirked, slowly walking up to the panda. Po laughed.

"I hope you'll find the man right for you to do that," Po smiled. Lu-Chang rolled her eyes, but kissed his cheek.

"Good bye, Po," She said, leaving the gang in peace.

"Let's go home," Po smiled. After that incident, neither Tai-Lung nor Tigress really fought with each other. Well, not openly anyway.

**Continued...**


	10. Knives out

Knives Out

**Yes this is based off of the new movie. **

* * *

Po knew that the two felines were acting out of fear towards him. Tigress answered Po in short responses and too many respectful bows. Tai-Lung was absolutely quiet. Though Po appreciated the silence, it was too much for him to see them look at him with fear. "Guys, what are you afraid of?" Po asked, sitting them both down in the kitchen. The two felines shared a glance, wondering who would say it first.

"Well, if we're being honest, Dragon Warrior," Tigress said formally, "The thought of you actually becoming Mr. Bones is..."

"Bone-chilling?" Tai-Lung finished, though not meaning to make the pun. Finally, something they could both agree on. "And we know that the amount of stress that you have with your past... and us... is definitely enough to cause someone to snap."

"Guys, Mr. Bones is a fake person! I would never snap on you guys," Po exclaimed.

"I'm actually surprised you're concerned about this," Tai-Lung said honestly, "I thought you would have loved for us not to fight anymore."

"Well, seeing you guys treat me like a monster is worse!" Po shot back. That word seemed to resonate with Tigress. Po sighed. "I understand that my acting was a bit much, but you know me... well, know enough of me to know that I would never do that."

"So you do admit there is a part of you we don't know," Tai-Lung inquired. Po rolled his eyes at the snow leopard's suspicion.

"You don't have to be afraid I'm going to snap your necks in half. I appreciate both of you _finally_ considering how much stress it is to be me, but I am still just Po." With that, Po got up and started to cook for lunch. "You can leave now," Po said, dismissing them to their regular activities. Tigress was trusting of Po, but Tai-Lung was much more suspicious. He stayed with the panda.

"Soo... what part with the tiger's flower?" Po rolled his eyes.

"It was a lie," He finally confessed.

"Oh thank goodness," Tai-Lung sighed in relief. Po's eyebrow crinkled up.

"Why were you thankful?"

"It would completely change how I see you. I mean, you are admittedly... gifted with some Kung-Fu arts," Tai-Lung elusively said, trying not to admit that Po was better than him, "It would just be awkward to know you were also a... private lover." Tai-Lung smirked. Po chuckled nervously as he skillfully cut the vegetables for his soup.

"I wouldn't know anything about that," Po replied. Suddenly, a knife dropped to the floor. Rather than moving his foot out of the way, Po quickly and carefully balanced it on his foot and then popped it back into his hand as he continued to chop vegetables. "But you don't have to worry a thing about me," Po smiled. Tai's eyebrow quirked up. "What?"

"That thing you just did with your foot and the knife. Is that training?"

"I don't know. I've been able to do that since I was 10," Po said casually.

"You're very skilled with your knives, I see," The snow leopard casually stated. Po rolled his eyes and looked at Tai-Lung. He narrowed them, questioning the snow leopard's motives. "What, I was just commenting on your dexterity. Is that bad?" Tai-Lung asked almost in a way that was tempting Po to respond arrogantly back.

"No, but you're trying to figure out something, I just don't know what," Po said suspiciously.

"I could say the same for you," The snow leopard replied. Just then, Crane came into the room, holding a letter with a seal that Po knew very well.

"Where did you get this?" Po asked.

"A messenger just flew in. He told me to give this to you," Crane answered. Po took the scroll and read it, gasping as his eyes looked at the words.

"What is it?" Tai asked. Po glanced at him.

"Get all of the Furious Five to go to my dad's shop. There's supposed to be an attack there," Po ordered. Tai-Lung nodded as he left the room, but not before hearing Po tell Crane the words: Knives out. That caught his attention. What was that supposed to mean?

The team quickly went to the shop whose establishment was crowded with guests and customers. "PO! Good, you came! Listen, I swamped with customers and I could use your help."

"Dad, I-"

"We have so many new orders that I can't complete them all. Ah, you brought your friends. You want to work here or eat here?" Mr. Ping asked Tai directly.

"Is he usually like this?" The snow leopard asked the nodding snake.

"But dad-"

"Oooh, this is the most wonderful time to be a noodle seller. Nothing can ruin this-"

"The Edger gang has declared knives out on you!" Po exclaimed. Mr. Ping paused, registering the panda's words. He immediately went inside.

"Everyone out! The shop is closing due to unforeseen circumstances! Everyone, get out!" He shouted to his customers.

"Po, what's going on?" Tigress asked.

"Don't worry," Po simply stated. He whispered over to Crane. "You got your friends?"

"Of course," The bird said, tipping his hat. "Yours?"

"They're in the kitchen," Po said as he started going into the shop.

"Po, what is going on?" Tigress asked again.

"A gang is about to attack my dad," Po said.

"Why?" Monkey asked.

"Well, this particular gang is... kind of a rival of my dad's," Po confessed. "You see, the secret ingredient recipe that my dad's grandpa got from winning a Mahjong game with his friend... was actually the leader of the Edgers' gang."

"Oh dear," Viper sighed.

"And while that doesn't explain why they're attacking after so long, now they're going to attack my shop," Mr. Ping said, giving Po a pair of black pants with no holes, rips, or patches in it. It had a big belt around it. Po went behind the counter to change.

"Huh, I've lost some pounds," Po noticed.

"Okay, so when are they coming?"

"They always have to come when it's noon for a 'knives out' call," Crane explained.

"And you know this because," Mantis asked. Suddenly, Crane noticed some commotion from outside. He saw some group of pigs and small ducks coming this way.

"Everyone, act as if it's a slow day," Po ordered. Everyone went to their places as a group of ducks and pigs came into the shop.

"This is what we're afraid of? They're pigs, we can take them," Tai-Lung said, about to stand up, but Crane grabbed him and pulled him down.

"Sit!" Crane squawked assertively.

"Ah, Lu the III. It's an honor to meet you," Mr. Ping formally bowed.

"Mr. Ping. It's interesting to see you." The lead pig said. "I'm here to tell you that a 'knives out' call has been placed on you."

"Really? Why?" Mr. Ping asked. "Your ancestor lost the recipe far and square."

"Actually, it's not because of that recipe. It's because we've been called to do so. Some followers of a guy name Mr. Bones wanted to eliminate you. That was before we heard they were imprisoned."

"Oh dear," Crane muttered. Po's eyebrow rose.

"Why would this... Mr. Bones want me dead?" Mr. Ping asked calmly.

"Well, his right-hand woman is out to eliminate any potential threat. And you're one of them," Lu replied. Po's face turned into one of anger.

"That little sneak," Po grumbled.

"Why is that?" Mr. Ping asked.

"Something about trying to make the world a safer place. She heard about your dealings with the Cutting Wings," Lu replied.

"I had no dealings with Lord Shen and you know it," Mr. Ping retorted.

"What is he talking about, Crane?" Tigress asked.

"Shh," The bird remarked.

"Well, it doesn't seem like it matters to her," Lu the III said, snapping his fingers as the people behind him unsheathed their knives. They were in a line and Crane was perfectly perpendular to them. "And since you don't have anyone to defend you, you know the rules of a knives out. I'm sorry, Mr. Ping."

"Me too," The duck smirked.

"NOW!" Po shouted. Crane's wing swiped the air, making the knives his wings were hiding fly out and knock the knives out of their hands. Lu's head spun to the bird, but the pig's reflexes took his own blade out and blocked the one coming from Po. The two's knives struggled against each other until Po pushed Lu back towards his group.

"Knives Out!" Po shouted.

**Continued...**


	11. The Truce between Two Enemies

The Truce between two Enemies.

* * *

Crane slid out over the table, clashing his daggers with two pigs by himself. "Now you can help!" Crane squawked to the others. Po and Lu battled with their knives while the Furious Five had to deal with the other knife-wielders.

"Whoa! These guys are good," Monkey commented. He couldn't land a hit on the guards. Tai-Lung tried swiping the duck knife-wielder's leg, but the duck simply threw his knife at the snow leopard, rolled out of the way of Tai's leg, grabbed his knife and tried stabbing Tai-Lung, only getting a few hairs off of Tai-Lung's chest.

"Better than good," Tai-Lung grunted, not being able to land a hit on them. Crane and Po, however, seem to be able to push them back with the ease of their knives. Crane's hidden wing knives clashed with the guards, but combining his Kung Fu skills, he pushed them back with his feet, knocking them on their backs. Po battled the leader pig, clashing their knives together. Lu the III knocked Po's dagger out of his hand, but Po quickly pulled out another one, knocking Lu's out. He pointed his knife at the disarmed pig, but Lu simply smirked. Po's eyes widened as he moved his head back, dodging a thrown knife from a duck on the top wall of the shop. Po threw his knife, but it left him unarmed, allowing Lu to hold him up at knife-point.

"Blade!"

"On it!" Crane shouted, throwing Po two hidden knives. The panda grabbed them and knocked the pig's knife out of his hand. Po quickly swiped the pig's feet, leaving him on the ground.

"Top knife!" Po shouted, making the guards instantly stop. They quickly bowed before Po and stood respectfully at the doorway.

"Okay, this is getting very weird," Viper mentioned very confusedly.

"This is declared over, Lu. Go back to your sender and tell her that Mr. Ping is off the list. If she wants to deal with the others, so be it, but be more careful in who you accuse," Crane sternly said.

"Yes, sirs. And who is the sender?" Lu asked.

"Dagger and Wingblade," Po proudly stated. Lu the III's eyes widened as he immediately got up and bowed low.

"We're so sorry, masters. We didn't know that Mr. Ping was under your protection. We will tell Mrs. Lu-Chang about this immediately. I'm sure that it is a misunderstanding," Lu said. "Everyone, Knives In!" With that, the guards walked out of the shop. "I am so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's alright. Your sender probably doesn't know the full story about the Cutting Wings," Crane mentioned, glancing over to Po. The panda nodded, calming down a bit, and bowing to the pig.

"Let us never meet again," Lu said formally.

"May your knife be long and sharp," Po, Mr. Ping, and Crane all bowed. With that, the pig calmly left.

"Three, two, one," Po counted.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" Mantis shouted at the top of his tiny lungs.

"Like lampwork," Po sighed. Tigress and Tai-Lung sternly glared at the panda, waiting for an explanation. "There is a good story for this." Po chuckled nervously as he and Crane sat on the same side of a round table while the Furious Five and Tai-Lung sat at the other side. "My dad is a part of the knife-wielding gang called the Cutting Wings. Coincidentally, that's the same gang that Lord Shen trained in when he was exiled."

"Why is your dad a part of a gang?" Viper asked.

"The recipe for the Secret Ingredient Noodle soup that my ancestor won was originally from Lu's ancestor, who was part of a knife-wielding gang called the Edgers. The Cutting Wings and the Edgers are all part of the Knife Ring," Po explained.

"Knife Ring?" Tai-Lung asked.

"A society of gangs that are specially trained with knives and daggers. They've even been able to fend off even good Kung Fu warriors. You might remember one of them. The Saber-tooth Wolves?" Crane suggested.

"That gang was the one that Lord Shen used." Tigress commented.

"They went rogue along with Lord Shen when he tried to used the Knife Ring to conquer China. The Ring refused since it works on a strictly merchant/protector basis," Mr. Ping explained.

"But how did you two get involved?" Viper asked.

"My dad's granddad joined the Cutting Wings because Lu was trying to kill him for winning the recipe. There was a fight between them until they finally worked things out. They've been peaceful ever since. The gangs are continued by blood and choice, so the sons can choose whether or not to stay in the gang. I decided to go in the gang because I was worried that the Edgers or some other gang would come around the shop," Po replied.

"But what about you?" Tai-Lung asked Crane.

"I joined the Cutting Wings because Master Shifu sent me on a private mission to learn more about the gang that taught Lord Shen. This was a while after Po was chosen. It was there that I learned that Po was not only a part of the Cutting Wings, but was the legendary Dagger, one of the best knife wielders in the area," Crane replied. "I asked him to show me how he fought with the blades and soon I became Wingblade."

"Because of our skill and status, the Ring normally listens to what we say," Po said, scratching his head.

"And you didn't tell us this because?"

"It would have put you in danger with gangs NOT associated with the Ring," Crane replied to Mantis. Tigress looked shocked and slightly hurt. Po was the first to pick up on this.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hide this from you guys, but I didn't want you getting hurt. I know you guys can handle yourselves, but still."

"The one thing I don't get is why you were so fixed on becoming a Kung Fu Warrior if you were already the best knife-wielder around," Viper asked.

"That's because having Kung Fu PLUS knife skills greatly boosts your awesomeness and your skillset," Po explained, proudly, pumping his fist in the air. The team was silent for a moment, processing what had been said. "Soooo."

"Are you willing to teach us?" Tai-Lung asked quickly. Po and Crane both glanced at Tai-Lung with confusion. "I mean, it would be beneficial to be versatile with a knife."

"I don't think we can do that, but I think I can improve your Kung Fu so you can at least fight a member of the Ring," Po thoughtfully said. "Come on, let's get to the Jade Palace and start."

"Dibs on Tigress!" Crane cried out.

"Aw Come on! Man," Po pouted. Tai-Lung silently grumbled as Viper, Monkey, and Mantis snickered.

"They're just joking, Tai-Lung." Viper counseled.

"Sure, you destroy a village and see if you don't take offense to that," Tai-Lung complained. Viper still smiled. The two had become better comrades after the whole ghost ship thing. It was quite strange to Tai-Lung to have a friend like her, especially since he had come to enjoy her company.

But he would never tell her that. Pride is a weird thing. The snow leopard looked back and saw Tigress looking at the ground. Her face seemed... hurt, but she didn't show it as well. Tai-Lung saw the others going out, so he walked up to her and smirked. "I'm guessing finding out about the panda has given you some... second thoughts about how much you know about him," He arrogantly smirked. Tigress growled. She couldn't believe he was taking this as an opportunity to frustrate her... again.

"I've... what goes on in my head is none of your concern," Tigress stated, lifting her head up a bit as she walked by the snow leopard.

"It's okay to say that you're surprised," Tai-Lung smiled mockingly. "Even I didn't know this about the panda, let alone the bird."

"They have names," Tigress growled, decisively. She walked back to him, assertively standing in front of him. "And it doesn't change who you are or what you've done," She said in a small yet threatening voice. "I may not know as much about Po as I thought, but you aren't something that is going to change any time soon. You're still the infamous vile criminal that only looks out for himself."

"You forgot handsome as well, Kitten," Tai-Lung grinned. Tigress gasped at the audacity, but shook her shock off and went back to her glare as Tai-Lung laughed. "But the same could be said about you too," Tai-Lung said with an increasingly serious tone, "You're still the stubborn Shifu-worshipper that can't see what her _real_ problem is, and that, my Kitten, is never going to change about you!" He pointed to her forehead. "Shifu's little demon is still in your tiny head, whispering lies about me that don't amount to anything. I was right in my pursuit for the Dragon Warrior title!"

"Then why don't you have it, Spots?" Tigress cockily smirked. Tai-Lung gritted his teeth, growling lowly. There was a small wooden table separating them. Tai suddenly smirked.

"I could ask you the same thing, Kitten," Tai-Lung grinned, causing Tigress to secretly rage inside. "Was Shifu's pet not worthy?" Tigress suddenly slapped Tai-Lung across the face with the back of her hand.

"I am no one's pet!" She growled infuriated. Tai-Lung still held his smirk, rubbing his sore cheek.

"With the way you slap, it's no wonder you're not the Dragon Warrior," Tai-Lung muttered. Tigress was about to fight him, but a steak knife suddenly sunk its blade into the table between them. They looked and saw Mr. Ping casually getting the knife he threw and twirling it unconsciously in his hand.

"Sorry, it slipped," He calmly lied. "Look, I don't know what your issue with each other is, but I can plainly see that you don't know each other's story." He pointed outside of the door. "Go and figure out your friends' stories, because it's obvious that you two are missing out on what they have to offer you. And when you've learned more about them, maybe you'll be able to look at each other without killing each other. But if you want something to do, figure out where Po goes in the middle of the night."

"He sleeps," Tigress told the goose. Mr. Ping simply looked at her and shook her head as he left. Tai-Lung grumbled, but sighed.

"He has a point. Po's secrets are starting to become more and more important." Tai-Lung said, stretching out his hand. "Therefore, I call a truce. Until we find out what's different about the panda that's causing him to act this way, we leave each other alone." It was quite a weird truce, but Tigress knew that something was off about Po. Several secrets about his life had popped up including Crane's who she knew longer. She had a choice, continue to hate Tai-Lung or care for Po. The tiger sighed as she stubbornly and begrudgingly shook his hand.

"Truce." Tigress muttered. And they say good deeds aren't made in hell. Well, they're right.

**Continued...**


	12. A Friend in Need

A Friend in Need

* * *

The panda just finished his teaching session when he saw the sun starting to go down. He passed his friends... and Tai-Lung in the kitchen. "I'm going on patrol."

"Po, this is the third time you've been on patrol this week. Let us do it, this time," Viper kindly said. Po smiled.

"No, I'm good. Besides, it's not as bad as you think," Po said, waving them goodbye. "Goodnight guys." Tigress looked over to Tai-Lung who nodded. He stood up and stretched his limbs.

"Well, I'm going to sleep," Tai-Lung declared quite naturally as he walked out and started to secretly follow Po into the night. The snow leopard followed the panda down the steps, into the valley, and through the silent streets of the village. "Where are you going?" Tai-Lung questioned, seeing the panda dutifully walk around the block. Tai-Lung started thinking that Po actually was just patrolling until the panda suddenly broke his patrol route and quickly ducked into a... bar club. The snow leopard was extremely confused. The smell of liquor on Po never penetrated Tai's nose. Why was Po going to a tavern?

Tai-Lung carefully walked into the bar, seeing the lively place. The ducks, wolves, pigs, small bunnies and boars, almost made Tai-Lung feel a little out of place. He also couldn't find Po anywhere. He went up to the bartender. "Excuse me, I'm looking for the Dragon Warrior," the bartender, a panda that had moved into the air after Kai, glared at the snow leopard.

"There is no one by that name here," He sternly said. Tai-Lung was a bit in disbelief. Po isn't someone that just disappears. And why would this bartender seem so at ends with it? Tai-Lung thought about his question.

"Okay, is... Po here?" Tai-Lung asked.

"He's in the back," The bartender pointed behind him. Tai-Lung nodded, walking over to the back to a door. He slowly opened the door and entered a hallway. At the end, there was an entryway on the right side. Tai-Lung slowly hid at the edge of the corner.

"Gosh, Po, that's the third Mealtime Drink this week. Stressful day at work?" Another panda bartender asked. Po mumbled. With him were a duck and a small male bunny beside him. This looked like a private bar for important people. Both the duck and the bunny looked like they were royalty.

"Yeah, the two felines are 'quietly' fussing at each other," Po grumbled.

"Are you sure that you should be drinking all of that though? I know it's not alcholic but it's a drink that has an entire meal in it," said the duck.

"Which is why I need it," Po murmured. "If I were this upset and at the Jade Palace, the Furious Five would accuse me of trying to starve them." Po sipped another drink down. "This is the only way to feed that nervous twitch while I'm going through this."

"Why not just tell them what's going on?" The pig asked.

"Are you crazy? I have one snow leopard that's so caught up in the grandeur of my title that he doesn't see the massive stress it has. He's never had to go through the pain of learning half the stuff I've learned in three days or had people call him fat boy, tubby, or loser. No, he's a prince fallen from grace just because he wanted something he already had." Po grumbled under his breath, clearing his muddy throat. "And what's worse is that he doesn't seem to look at my life and see how awful and painful it is to have the responsibility of the entire world on your shoulders while your own life and enjoying your own pleasures slip away from you. I'm always busting my butt for someone else!" Po said quite loathsomely. Tai-Lung was surprised that Po would say such things. Rather, he was surprised Po would say them so bluntly.

"What about that ultimate power talk?" The duck asked.

"Yeah right! Things that I'm teaching every one else to do. Pretty soon, I'm not going to have anything to teach anyone!" Po exclaimed. "Trust me, there are NO perks of being the Dragon Warrior, especially when you have to deal with those two and you can't just simply banish both of them!" Po sighed.

"You know you _choose_ to do that, right?" The bartender said, bringing the panda back to reality.

"Because it's the 'right' thing," Po muttered. "And I can't really tell them because then I'll feel bad about it afterwards. UGH! I don't understand why Oogway would choose **anyone** for this job! Sometimes I wish I was never the Dragon Warrior."

"Tai-Lung would love that, you know," The bartender said.

"Yeah, but after he got it, he would be miserable too and he doesn't know that," Po grumbled. He plopped his elbow onto the bar, gesturing in the air. "Listen, Tai-Lung is highly ambitious. It's what got him into trouble in the first place. But let's say he was the Dragon Warrior, then what? Half of my life is trying to figure out what it means to be Dragon Warrior. Oogway didn't leave an instruction book! He would have no goal after that, just like he has no goal now! Other than making my life more miserable." Po sighed. "What makes it worse is the fact that Tigress, my best friend and support, is too distracted by Spots' stupid stuff to help me... so I'm really alone in this."

"I'm really sorry about that, Po. Now I understand why you wanted to make sure that your title isn't mentioned here," The bartender said sympathetically. Po weakly smiled. "What about that Jai-Ling fellow that keeps giving you the missions."

"Well, those missions are helping out a bit. Although, they're starting to get a little too personal. I'm almost positive that it was him that convinced Lu-Chang to go after the gangs to get my dad. But it did helps my friends get better at their Kung Fu and their teamwork." Tai-Lung didn't know what to feel. He slowly slid away, exiting the tavern and making his way up the Jade Palace steps where he slid into bed undetected.

The next morning, Tai-Lung awoke to see Tigress leaning on his doorframe. Tai-Lung rolled his eyes at the intrusiveness of the tiger as he got out of bed. "Well, where did he go?"

"He..." Now Tai-Lung felt a little conflicted. Po was going through a lot of mess right now, and what he said about the others may have been true. "He... went to a club where he relaxes a bit after his patrol route. I... didn't get much but I did get a name Jai-Ling. Apparently, the missions as of late are being sent by him." Tigress stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was telling the truth.

"Then we'll have to find out who this Jai-Ling is," Tigress said, getting off the doorframe. "Is that all?"

"That's all Ki-... Master Tigress," Tai-Lung begrudgingly said. Tigress noticed the withholding of her nickname, but simply brushed it off as Tai-Lung being sleepy. Tai-Lung did that for an entirely different reason. What Viper had said about Po struggling being the warrior that no one wanted, played out in his mind as he remembered the night before. Po was right. All things considered, Tai-Lung would have a terrible time being Dragon Warrior. So that ambition was given up, but what to replace it with?

The panda seemed like he was needing a friend. All things considered... and the fact that Mr. Bones could very well come out and snap Tai-Lung in half... and then eat him, Tai-Lung had a responsibility to give the panda that. A friend.

**Continued...**


	13. It's a Date

It's a Date

* * *

"Guys, I need Tai-Lung, Monkey, and Mantis to go to Jing Village. There've been some robberies going on there that the people want you to help them with," Po declared. The Furious Five and Tai-Lung looked at each other before looking at Po. "What?"

"No to be rude, Po, but... that has to be the strangest grouping you could have ever made," Viper said honestly. Po sighed.

"Yeah, I know... But that's not the point!" Po quickly replied. "Just get down there. They're having a problem with some... special kind of bandits," Po explained. Tai-Lung, Monkey, and Mantis awkwardly stepped out of the room together. It was like a group of classmates that never interacted with each other working together.

"Well, that mission should be fun," Crane commented. Po sighed a bit out of relief that that task was done.

"I'll be out for a while. Make sure that nothing goes wrong," Po ordered to the rest.

"Where are you going?" Tigress asked.

"It's... ugh, you're going to find out anyway," Po muttered in a defeatist tone, "I'm going on a date."

"PSTTT!" Crane spat his drink all over the table. Po rolled his eyes.

"Gee, thanks for the confidence," The panda muttered.

"We're sorry Po, but... who is the lucky lady," Viper smiled, glad that her friend was getting out there.

"Lu-Chang," Po slowly stated. Viper, Tigress, and Crane glared at him. "Look, I promised her a date and that's what I'm giving her."

"She made orders to kill your father!" Tigress exclaimed loudly.

"Yeah, so have most of the villains I've reformed," Po argued, throwing his hands out. "Listen, it's not a big deal. I'm just going over there to make sure she _is_ doing what she said she is doing." Tigress sulked a bit in the corner while Crane and Viper looked at each other. Viper sighed.

"I think it would be a good break for you. You could use a non-stressful situation," Viper replied.

"He's going on a date. How is that a non-stressful situation," Crane asked pragmatically. The snake rolled her eyes. "But it would be nice to know that she didn't **_intentionally_** try to kill your father with the Edgers," Crane explained. Po nodded as he left the room. Tigress soon followed him. "Why is she so upset?" Crane asked his serpentine friend. Viper simply shook her head with a heavy sigh.

"Po," Tigress called out, stopping the panda in her tracks. "I want to come with you." Po looked at her for a moment and shrugged his shoulders.

"Sure."

"I know that you want privacy for this but she could... wait, did you say yes?" Tigress asked confused.

"Knowing you, you were going to follow me anyways," Po smirked at her sour-looking face. "Just don't make it obvious."

"YOU are educating ME about being secretive," Tigress said with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.

"Mr. Bones, my acting career, Dagger," Po said, listing all the things he had kept a secret from her.

"Okay, I get it," Tigress muttered, annoyed that he was bringing up the stuff she didn't know about him. "I will keep my distance."

* * *

Po walked into a nearby food shop outside of town. He couldn't help but notice he was going out to eat more than normal. He saw the Siamese Cat waving him over to sit across from her at her table. "I was surprised that you took me up on this offer, Po," Lu-Chang chuckled, a bit nervous though she was hiding it well.

"Well, you did say I owed you one, and this was the best way to do it," Po smiled. Tigress was near the table on the other side. She was actually right behind Lu-Chang, but the cat couldn't see her.

"So, no one followed you? I would have thought that the tiger would be following you," Lu-Chang smirked. Po rose an eyebrow.

"Why?" He asked. Lu-Chang laughed.

"You seriously don't know?" She chuckled.

"No, what is it?" Po asked. Lu-Chang thought about it, but then only cheekily smiled at him.

"I think it would be best if you figured it out by yourself."

"Oh come on!" The panda huffed, "Why?"

"It's a feline thing, you'll get the hang of it," Lu-Chang smirked. Tigress quietly growled. "Ooh, I guess you're hungry."

"Uh... yeah, I am," Po nervously said. They placed the order for their food and waited for it. "So, how have you been since the Mr. Bones incident?"

"I've been good. I'm actually working with law enforcement to shut down a lot of the gangs. A particular one was the Cutting Wings, but the merchants I hired said they couldn't do it because of some code."

"Yeeeah, um... did they mention something about a Wingblade and Dagger?" Po asked. Lu-Chang's eyes narrowed at the panda.

"Po, what did you do?"

"Okay, my dad is a part of the Cutting Wings," Po explained, making Lu-Chang gasp. "Why did you make the call?"

"I... I heard reports that Lord Shen was a part of the Cutting Wings, I thought that he was also one of them since he was considered a high rank in the gang." Lu-Chang replied. Po explained everything about the Knife Ring, the Cutting Wings, Edgers, and Dagger and Wingblade. "Oh wow! I'm so sorry, Po. I didn't know." Po smiled.

"It's okay, the Edgers should have told you about it," Po said.

"Well, I thought the person who told about Mr. Ping was trustworthy, but-"

"Let me guess: A mysterious duck?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Lu-Chang asked. Po grumbled under his breath. "Is he bad?"

"No... well, I don't know yet," Po sighed. "But let's change the topic."

"Hm, okay," Lu-Chang smiled as they talked about their lives. Lu-Chang's father had been a corrupt officer where she learned her skills as a criminal, but it never felt right for her. But she decided to do what she did best anyways. After Po came into her life, she started using that skill to catch other criminals. Tigress looked back and saw Po laughing and talking with her. She hadn't seen Po this relaxed in a while. Maybe this was good for him. "And that's how we caught him." Lu-Chang finished explaining some story to Po.

"Awesome! That was pretty smart using the rope as a fake ghost," Po smiled. Lu-Chang smiled back but then sighed. "What's wrong?"

"Po, you're an amazing guy, but I don't want to lead you on."

"What do you mean?"

"Where do you think this... thing is going," Lu-Chang asked, gesturing between her and the panda. Po was still clueless. "People usually date with something in mind down the road. Like a serious relationship?" Lu-Chang smiled almost jokingly. Po laughed nervously.

"Well, I... kind of just wanted to be friends." Po slowly confessed. "Nothing serious, really." Lu-Chang smiled.

"I was thinking the same thing," She said as they finally finished the food they had long eaten before. Lu-Chang got up along with Po and hugged him. "Well, see you around... Lee." She smirked cheekily as she exited the room. Po smiled as she left. Tigress got up and caught up with Po as they walked back to the Jade Palace.

"Well, that was... interesting," Tigress said quite confused around what to say.

"Did she say anything incriminating, Mrs. Doubter?" Po asked with a quite childish smirk. Tigress glared at Po, causing him to shrink back, but she sighed.

"No, she seems... sincere," Tigress said, but Tigress couldn't help but notice that this was the Po that she remembered being a friend to. The Po she had been around lately was depressing, anti-social, and seemed to be isolated by circumstances... that she helped create. "And... did you enjoy yourself... with her?"

"Yeah!" Po beamed with a smile. "Viper was right, it did turn out pretty great. But the food could have been better." Tigress gave a small smile while rolling her eyes. Then she became serious.

"So... what's this thing about a duck. I think his name is... Jai-Lung?" Tigress asked as they got to the Jade Palace. Po's eyes widened then narrowed back at Tigress, questioning many things in his head. Yet the panda simply sighed heavily and replied.

"He's the guy that's been giving me all of these missions as of late," Po said, returning to his straight-forward gaze. "He's been helping me get the order back in the village and China."

"But he convinced someone to try and kill you father," Tai-Lung pointed out. Po sighed.

"I feel like Jai-Ling purposely tries to reveal hidden secrets about someone. But most of his missions do complete some other goal that I'm trying to get to," Po replied.

"What is that?"

"For right now, I can't tell you, but with time, you'll see," Po promised. Just then, a loud chorus of laughter sounded from the further down the steps. Tai-Lung, Mantis, and Monkey were returning from their mission, obviously in good spirits. "Well, how did the mission go?" Po asked with a small smirk.

"Oh man, it was so funny. So the people were being robbed by these birds who thought they were soooo superior to everyone else and they thought they had a right to have the food the fishermen were getting," Monkey started.

"And this place is a fishing village that used these weird catapults to throw the nets," Tai-Lung added. "Anyways, the birds would come out at night and-"

"The people were so worried about not getting any food from the sea. So Tai thought about using the catapults as a way to catch the birds in the act in mid-air. You should have seen those birds' face! 'OH NO NOT A NET!'" Mantis mimicked. While Tigress wasn't amused, Po simply smiled, liking how the snow leopard seemed to be at ease with the three.

"Why don't you three go to sleep? Maybe you can tell us more about the story in the morning."

"Yes Grandmaster Po," All three of them said, passing Po. Tai-Lung and Tigress shared a glare before they left.

**Continued...**


	14. Jasmine Lock-Up

Jasmine Lock-up

* * *

"He what?!" Tai-Lung exclaimed, nearly falling back in his chair. Tigress leaned her back on the kitchen counter, crossing her arms and nodding her head. "And... how did it go?"

"Not bad... he... seemed to enjoy it," Tigress enviously replied. Tai-Lung rose an eyebrow, causing his smirk to show, but he suddenly shook his head, waving the insult in his head away.

"And he allowed you to follow him?" Tigress nodded. Tai-Lung shrugged after thinking about it, "You were probably going to do that even if he didn't know about it."

"Jai-Ling was the one who ordered the attack on Mr. Ping, but Po thinks that he's still of use to him. I don't know why," Tigress muttered. Tai-Lung thought back to when they first had that mission on Desert Mountain. He remembered the conversation he had with Po.

"Ah! It brings the team together," Tai-Lung said more as a statement than a proposal. "These missions have brought the team closer together... somewhat," Tai-Lung muttered, glanced dismissively at her. "And that's what Po needs: Unity." Tigress looked away from Tai-Lung until Crane ran into the kitchen.

"Po want us to go to Ai-Yun's Providence." The team was soon off to the Ai-Yun Providence. Po looked at the ground, fidgeting and gesturing with his hands though he wasn't talking to anyone, just mumbling to himself.

"Is everything alright, Po?" Tai-Lung asked a little confused, "Or have you figured out to win the game in your head?" Po rolled his eyes.

"I'm just trying to figure out something," Po indifferently said.

"Oh, does it have something to do with Jai-Ling?" Crane asked, who was walking right next to the panda. Po stopped, snapped his head up at Crane and glared at him before turning his gaze towards Tigress. "He told me his name when he gave me the scroll about the Edgers and I dug up some of the scrolls from the previous missions we've done." Po looked back at Crane, slightly confused, but greatly impressed.

"Well, yeah," Po sighed, defeated, "I'm trying to figure out what exactly Jai-Ling wants us to do here."

"He didn't say?" Tai asked.

"He did, but I'm trying to figure out what he _really_ wants. Every mission has opened up some kind of door in either my past or someone else's. I'm just trying to figure which one before we get there," Po grumbled, sighing in defeat.

"Well, what does Jai-Ling want," Viper asked, trying to change subjects.

"A group of bandits have been pestering and attacking one of the villages there, near the Hidden Jasmine Temple. From what the scroll said, they're having a problem with the bandits there, even the Emperor's royal guards can't get them," Po shrugged. They soon got to the village near the Jasmine Temple. Now the Jasmine Temple is one of the finest and most interesting buildings known to the area. It's has a massive entrance, steel doors beautifully decorated with golden flower inlay. Just outside the doors were for jade pillars much like the Jade Palace. The Jasmine Temple was named for the wild Jasmine flowers that grew near the palace.

The unusual thing about it is that the temple is built just like a prison. The one door that everyone entered and exit through was a protection from the bandits that USED to come from the mountains to attack the temple. Unfortunately, the temple was just big enough to house a garden for people inside to survive. The temple walls were tall and unscalable. Birds couldn't get in through the top because of a metal grated roof that let air, sunlight, and rain in, but not birds. There was no way in or out except for that front door. As Po and the others came into the local officer's room, a stressed female antelope frantically looked over all her maps and papers. "Mrs. Yun?" Po said lightly. The antelope looked up and her countenance brightened, just a bit.

"Ah! You're the Dragon Warrior! Thank goodness you're here," Mrs. Yun praised, placing both her hands on his shoulders. "We really need your help! Please come with me to the front line."

"Front line?" Tigress asked as they quickly powerwalked with the officer, "What is happening?" they traveled through the busy streets of the village. Po was right behind the leading antelope until he accidentally bumped into someone, making their basket of fruit spill out.

"Oh shoot! I'm so sorry," Po apologized, stopping to pick the fruits up with the person.

"It's okay, I didn't see where I was going," The female snow leopard chuckled, picking up the basket. Po stopped and froze. He slowly looked at the person. The female snow leopard wondered why the panda stopped picking up the fruit. It was until she saw his face that she quickly picked up the rest of the fruit and they both stood up. Shock, surprise, and... something else was expressed on their faces. The snow leopard quickly ran away with the basket in hand.

"Po? Is everything okay?" Tai-Lung asked. Po's eyes still looking in the direction the snow leopard left. He slowly looked to Tai-Lung.

"Yeah, let's go," Po slowly replied, joining up with the gang at the front lines. "What did I miss?" Po asked, having been lost from the group when he bumped into the snow leopard.

"Basically, bandits have figured out how to take over the Jasmine Temple. At night they raid the place and retreat back to the temple. But since it's built like Chor-Gom prison, no offense, Tai-Lung," Viper apologized. Tai-Lung actually rolled his eyes with a small smile. "the troops can't figure out a way in."

"We would love your help with this, masters." Mrs. Yun pleaded.

"Let's scout the place at night. That way we might get in when they're trying to raid the village," Tigress proposed.

"Mrs. Yun, have your soldiers stay with the villagers," Tai-Lung added to Tigress's suggestion. "That way they don't steal much." Tigress nodded as they waited in a secluded place near the temple grounds until nightfall.

"Mmm, this is going to be interesting," Monkey sighed as Crane and Viper were checking out the area. "This place is built like a prison."

"We'll have to be fast in order to get inside," Tigress said.

"Mantis should try and go first since he so small." Tai-Lung proposed.

"Small!"

"I'm just saying!" Tai-Lung replied defensively. Tigress sighed.

"He's right, Mantis. You'll be more likely to sneak past the guards." Tigress explained. Mantis huffed. Everyone suddenly noticed that Po was looking away, silently looking at the village. "Po, are you okay?"

"I know why Jai-Ling **really** sent us here. And it's another personal one," Po sighed although being straight forward. Tai-Lung and Tigress looked at each other.

"Well, what is it?" Tai-Lung asked. Before he could answer, Crane and Viper came back with disparaging news.

"There's absolutely no way in."

"Then we'll just have to wait until they raid the village," Tai-Lung said as they saw the doors of the temple start to open.

**Continued... **


	15. Secret Path

A Secret Path

* * *

The doors opened and the Furious Five immediately saw the problem to their plan of simply raiding the palace. A massive spiked barricade prevented anyone from coming in after the bandits went out. Another problem, there were only a few of the bandits that came out and they stealthfully slunk through the night. "Okay, new plan. We capture each one that comes out."

"That will cause the ones inside not to come out altogether," Tigress argued.

"Yeah, but if they do, they'll have to come out **one** way when their supplies actually run out. They can't stay in there forever," Tai-Lung said. Tigress nodded as they Furious Five descended and rounded up the bandits in easy time. But there was a problem as they got back to their spot.

"There's more of them," Crane announced.

"What?! How?"

"I counted the bandits the last time I went there, and there's more! There's got to be some other entrance to this place. I looked through the metal grate on the roof. There's a whole community of bandits alive and well in that temple and they seem to be well-stocked: fruits and vegetables and exotic spices, even. Stuff you can't just grow inside of there," Crane explained. Tigress thought about it for a moment as the sun rose.

"Mrs. Yun should know everything about this place," Tigress proposed.

* * *

"I don't know anything about that place," Mrs. Yun said. Tai-Lung threw up his hands in defeat as Tigress looked at her astonished. "The plans for that temple were lost many years ago when it was built."

"There's got to be some way in that temple," Crane exclaimed. Po was silent for a while. "Are there any sewers that we could go through or any secret doors in the area?"

"No," Mrs. Yun sighed, "None that we know. I'm sorry." The team was in dismay until Po finally spoke up.

"I know a way in." The room focused on him in shock, in annoyance, possibly rage, but mostly shock.

"And you were going to tell us when?" Tai-Lung growled. Po sighed.

"When I muscled up the courage to do what I'm going to do," Po replied heavily. "Do you have the location of a Mrs. Jun?"

"Um... let me see," Mrs. Yun said, looking through her papers. "Um... yes, why?"

"I need her to get to the underground tunnel."

"Underground tunnel? Po, when were you going to tell us this?" Monkey exclaimed.

"And why does this Mrs. Jun know it?" Tigress questioned. Po sighed as he took the scroll from the antelope.

"Trust me, this is going to be awkward. Majorly awkward," Po said as they walked out. "Get all the soldiers," Po ordered. "I'll be back. I have to do this alone." With that, the panda ran off. Tigress was about to go after him, but Tai stopped her. The tiger glared at the male snow leopard who only sighed.

"There's already a part of Po's life that has been hard for you to handle. I don't think you want to know this one." Tai-Lung said. "Besides, I think he needs to do this alone." Tigress glared at him for a while before finally sighing and going to gather the troops.

Po ran over to the site where Mrs. Jun was. He knocked on the door. "Okay, Po. Just take it easy. It will be okay. No, no, no it won't. What am I doing!" Po exclaimed.

"You're fixing a past problem," Said a voice behind him. Po turned and saw a familiar duck.

"Jai-Ling," Po sternly groaned at the name. "Why did you lead us here? Why now! I can't do this alone!"

"You don't have to," Jai-Ling said, walking up to the door and knocking on it. "I'll be with you for this one."

"It's been so long and I-"

"It's okay," Jai-Ling warmly smiled. Po breathed in and out as the door slowly opened to the sight of a small female snow leopard. The one that Po bumped into yesterday. Her eyes widened at the sight of the panda.

"Po?" Po looked to his side and suddenly saw the duck was gone.

"Hey Jun."

"Is... is this about the temple?"

"So you knew,' Po sighed. They were quiet for a moment. Suddenly, Jun trembled as she clung onto the door frame. "Jun?" Po quickly moved closer, trying to comfort her as she cried.

"Po, I'm so sorry I betrayed you like that! I didn't deserve your kindness! I was just young and stupid and I just-" She hit her head with her hands in frustration, but Po stopped her, slowly raising her chin up with a smile.

"It's okay, I forgive you," Po smiled. Jun slowly and weakly smiled back as she hugged the panda back. "It's okay."

Later, Tigress, Tai, and the others found Po coming back with an arm slung around a female snow leopard who was laughing and giggling with him as they came back. Tigress couldn't help but comment on it. "You look happier."

"I am. This is Mrs. Jun-"

"Ms. Jun. Just Ms."

"Really?" Po's ears perked up. Jun's eyes fell to their half-lidded position, smirking at the panda. "Um... I mean."

"Let's just get to this secret underground tunnel," Tai-Lung hurriedly reminded them.

"Right," Po agreed as they and the whole army of troops followed Jun to a densely forested place. There against one of the rocks was a boulder.

"What's suppose to be here?" Monkey asked. Jun smirked as she lifted the 'boulder' with ease. "What the-"

"It's a cleverly disguised entrance. This 'boulder' is actually filled with feathers," Jun said, tossing the bag as it landed with a plop instead of a crack. "Come on."

"How is there an underground tunnel and how did you not know it was here, Po? You've obviously been here," Monkey pointed out as they started walking into the tunnel.

"I knew where it was, but Jun is the one who remembers how to get to the Palace. There's a split in the tunnel that puts you in one of the old jails near here," Po explained.

"WHAT?" The guards and the others exclaimed.

"So criminals used these tunnels?" Crane asked, his voice echoing in the close dark place.

"Used to. But the jail closed down along with the ordinary temple services. I guess, when I was here, I never actually cared about that," Po said inattentively.

"Okay, then why were you here?" Tigress asked.

"When we were kids, Po and I used to come here to hang out. It was our little private place," Jun smiled in remembrance.

"Oh! So you know Po," Tai-Lung pointed out.

"You could say that," Jun smirked at the nervously smiling panda. "Okay, we're coming to the temple. Get ready," The snow leopard said quietly. She quietly opened the door and saw the bandits inside of the temple all sleeping. "Go!"

"Come on guys!" Po shouted as the Furious Five and the guards attacked the bandits and fell on them like a violent hailstorm. Tai-Lung fought back to back with Tigress, smashing and dodging the defense and attacks of the bandits.

"Duck!" Tigress shouted as they both dodged a thrown mallet.

"You know, it's weird how we fight together so well," Tai-Lung commented, rolling over Tigress's back and punching a bandit back as Tigress quickly climbed over him and smashed the shield of one bandit with her bare hands. "Maybe these missions do work for teamwork. Not that I enjoy it."

"Just fight!" Tigress growled, punching over Tai-Lung's head as the snow leopard quickly ducked so she could hit the bandit next to him. Pretty soon the bandits were all defeated and rounded up as the doors to the old temple doors were opened at dawn break. The royal officer was simply overjoyed to see the Furious Five exit the temple victorious.

"You've done it! Thank you, thank you so much!" Mrs. Yun exclaimed with joy. Tai-Lung gently nudged the female snow leopard in front of him.

"You have Ms. Jun to thank for that. Without her, we wouldn't have been able to take these villains down," Tai-Lung smiled at the nervous girl. Po slung his arm around her shoulders.

"Yep! She's awesome like that!"

"Po!" She blushed as everyone laughed.

Later, as the bandits were hauled away, the Furious Five and Tai-Lung were waiting for Po to stop talking with Jun. "They seem really close," Viper mentioned.

"I think she's just very friendly," Crane noticed. Suddenly, they saw the snow leopard lean up to Po and kiss his cheek, walking away.

"_Very_ very friendly," Tai-Lung smirked as the slightly blushing panda came over to the others.

"Let's go home, guys," Po smiled as they walked back.

"So," Viper said with a mischievous tone in her voice, "You and Jun seem very close."

"Viper," Tigress said warningly. "Don't tease Po."

"It's alright, Tigress. I'm okay with it," Po smiled.

"That snow leopard seemed very fond of you, panda," Tai-Lung teased. Po shrugged.

"Well, I guess I have a way of doing that with my ex-girlfriends," Po said casually. The Furious Five and Tai-Lung stopped in their tracks as Po walked on.

"I'm sorry, girlfriend! Ah, wait! Girlfriend_**s**_!" Tai-Lung exclaimed. They chased after the panda demanding answers to their many questions. The poor panda was answering questions until nightfall.

**Continued...**


	16. A Night with the Dragon Warrior

A Night with the Dragon Warrior

* * *

It was night time when Tigress walked across all of the room in the barracks. She made a habit of this, watching and making sure that all of her friends... and Tai-Lung were accounted for. Partly because she didn't trust Tai-Lung around them. As the neared the snow leopard's room, she sighed, trying to restrain herself from any kind of outburst that the snow leopard might invoke. "Are you resting?" Tigress neutrally asked. Tai-Lung, laying on the mat and looking at the ceiling, glanced at the tiger.

"No, I'm actually wondering where Po is. He wasn't in the village or in the tavern. I think he knows that I spied on him," Tai-Lung replied blandly.

"I doubt that's it. Po is in his room, he's just up late... again," Tigress said, glancing down at the floor. Tai-Lung noticed this.

"Master Tigress," He began formally, "There's nothing preventing you from joining him," Tigress growled at him.

"I am not-"

"Not like that," Tai-Lung growled back, irritated that the tiger would even think that he would suggest such a thing. "Why in China would I suggest that?" Tigress stayed silent, slightly embarrassed about the incident. "Anyways, what I mean is you're the closest to the panda. From," He paused for a moment, considering his words. "From what I've seen, I think he would appreciate some help. It may also help you in dealing with me," Tai-Lung proposed. Tigress glared at him.

"Why do you care about what Po's going through? In fact, why did you agree to this truce?" Tigress questioned.

"Two words: Mister Bones," Tai lowly said, making Tigress shiver at the name. "I want to make sure that that persona of the panda NEVER becomes a reality."

"Fair enough."

"And what's yours, other than your friendship with him?" Tai-Lung asked, genuinely curious. Tigress was quiet for a moment before slowly inhaling and speaking.

"It's the right thing to do," Tigress shortly said, turning to leave him be. Tai-Lung rolled his eyes as he groaned loudly.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Tai-Lung muttered as he got up and poked his head outside of his room. "For what it's worth," He called Tigress. "I think the red panda would be proud of you for dealing... with the situation," He grumbled, going back to bed. Though Tigress kept going, she wasn't... completely unphased by the snow leopard's words. She walked to Po's quarters where she saw a small candle light glowing in the distance. Po never really stayed up late. However, that was before Tai-Lung came and her fight with him. She hadn't really taken any notice of Po's change in habits before now. Tigress quietly walked into Po's quarters and saw him quickly writing on a scroll.

"Po?"

"AHHH!" Po jumped, dropping the feather pen in his hand. "Agh! Don't scare me like that Tigress," Po exclaimed, clutching his heart as he retrieved the pen and dripped it into the inkwell. Tigress walked in carrying her small Chinese paper lantern.

"What are you writing?" Tigress asked, looking over his work.

"I'm writing to Master Shifu. He sent a letter asking how the palace was doing. I told him about the corrupt leaders and other stuff that we've been having. I'm also writing to different providences who need advice. It's a lot of paperwork," Po said quite blandly. Tigress saw the stack of scrolls and discarded pieces of papyrus that were left scattered on the ground. "Which reminds me, make sure that I pick up back there," Po said, pointing to the mess behind him. "I've been getting complaints from Zeng."

"How long have you been doing this?" Tigress asked, wondering how long had he been up.

"I usually write after the patrol and only after I'm done when that candle goes out," Po said, pointing to a very tall candlestick. Tigress estimated it to be at least a four-hour candle.

"Po, don't you have to sleep?"

"I do, just not on nights like these," Po replied, shortly.

"What's so special about tonight?" Tigress asked.

"It's quiet and you and Tai-Lung aren't arguing through the night," Po explained. Tigress hadn't even noticed that the two felines were keeping the other Furious Five awake. "Actually, you two have been getting better at NOT trying to kill each other."

"Po, you have to understand that Tai-"

"I understand," Po stopped her. "But you also have to realize that the effects of your reactions towards him affect others," The panda said sternly. He grumbled to himself, seemingly irritated by is own voice. "Now I sound like Shifu." He muttered quietly. "Listen, Tai-Lung, even though he has major, major faults, he isn't the source of your problems."

"Then what is?" Tigress asked, crossing her arms. Po rolled his eyes as he returned to writing.

"I don't know, you don't tell us, so we don't know," Po commented, though in a hidden deriding manner. Tigress felt the cold shoulder expressed by Po, but she wanted to venture further with her questions. She sat down on the floor, next to his chair, gently placing the lantern on the other side. She bravely asked.

"Po, when you said that Master Shifu would have made things worse by being here, what did you mean?" Tigress asked. Po stopped writing and looked down at her from his chair.

"Promise me one thing before I tell you. That you don't take it to heart and think little of yourself," Po said. The tiger felt her heart drop a bit. Would Master Shifu's view of her change simply by being fighting with Tai-Lung? Tigress nodded. "Master Shifu would have made things worse because he would have agreed with my idea of bringing Tai-Lung back."

"Oh," Tigress simply said, not showing any emotion. She was confused, though. "Why would that make me feel bad?"

"Because you'd probably think that Shifu was quickly accepting Tai-Lung back as his adopted son. It's a classic jealousy scenario," Po replied.

"I wouldn't be jealous of Tai-Lung, Po," Tigress sternly corrected.

"No, you'd be jealous of the fact that Shifu was accepting Tai-Lung back," Po explained. Tigress couldn't argue with that. "That's why Shifu being here is actually a bad idea." Po sighed, continuing to write.

"So... Jun... she... betrayed you," Tigress asked, moving to another subject... a harder one to listen to.

"Yeah, we were dating until she dumped me for another person. It was teen drama at the time. I quickly grew out of that," Po waved the incident away.

"You've grown up," Tigress joked. Po looked at her with a smile and a breath of air like a closed mouth laugh.

"Why ask about her?" Po asked, going back to writing. Tigress stood up, placing her hand on his feather pen.

"Po, in the past few missions, we have seen a whole side of you that we've never seen before... I've seen a whole side of you and... I'm sorry for being so stupidly distracted by Tai-Lung to forget to simply ask how you're doing. Please forgive me," Tigress gently and humbly asked. Po smiled as he stood up and hugged her. Tigress stiffened, but she quickly melted into it. She had long forgotten how great it was to hug Po. His scent, his warmth, his...

"Hehe, sorry, forgot you don't do hugs," Po quickly said, pulling away. Tigress lowered her ears and frowned for a moment before returning to her strong composure. The panda yawned. "You know, I think I'll just go to sleep for now. Goodnight, Tigress."

"Goodnight, Po," Tigress returned, taking her lantern and leaving the panda alone. That night Tigress went to sleep, remembering Po's hug.

The next day, she fidgeted in her sleep until a finger poked her, causing her to spring up in her bed, nearly kicking the person who disturbed her. "Bad dream," Tai-Lung cooly said, defensively putting his hands up. Tigress growled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "How was your night with Po? And no, I don't mean it like that." Tai-Lung asked.

"He was writing when I was there. I... asked him a few... personal questions. Nothing that I can tell the others," Tigress said, implying that he wasn't going to know. Tai-Lung simply nodded, though begrudgingly. Then his hard look turned to a softer gaze.

"And... your nightmare. You were muttering 'no' in your sleep," Tai-Lung stated.

"Why do you ask?" Tigress questioned, crossing her arms and glaring hard at him. Really she was asking, 'why do you _care_?' Tai-Lung rolled his eyes, but slowly explained his reason, as if he was making up the sentence as he went along.

"Sleep... deprivation can lead to... a very fragile mind. You're not any... good to the team if you don't get sleep," Tai-Lung said. It sounded as if he was trying to make it insulting, but was having a hard time doing so. "Anyways, we have another mission. This time, it's just me, you, and the panda," Tai-Lung grinned slightly evilly as he swept the way with his hands gesturing 'after you'.

"The excitement is exploding in me," Tigress grumbled. "And what shall we learn about Po this time?" The tiger sighed.

"I don't know, maybe he's actually a tiger in disguise." Tai-Lung proposed. "And who knows, maybe this is a personal mission for me."

"Sure it is," Tigress replied, grumbling. The snow leopard didn't know how right he was.

**Continued...**


	17. A Waste of Time

A Waste of Time

* * *

"So, Grandmaster Po," Tai-Lung said, slightly mockingly though not as much as he normally would, "What your new secret for today?"

"Actually, I don't know," Po confessed. "I've actually never been to this part of the area." Po looked at the scroll with Jai-Ling's seal on it. "This time, Jai-Ling just wants us to meet up with an official that wants to present us to the people."

"That's it?" Tigress asked, not hiding her surprise.

"Yeah, I'm confused too," Po explained. "Who knows, maybe it's not my 'crazy secret' that's going to be revealed this time," The panda muttered, gesturing his hands in a sarcastic jazz hand type motion.

"Then who?" Tigress asked, a little bit nervous as if she were the one to give it. Po only shrugged. They were passing a market place when they came to an empty cart. Just then, Tai-Lung saw something... or someone that made him quickly jumped over the empty cart and hide.

"Whoa, that's the quickest I've seen him move," Po commented as he and Tigress walked behind the cart. "What's wrong?"

"Get down!" Tai-Lung hissed in a quiet tone, making the two bent down. "You see that snow leopard there?" Tai-Lung said, pointing in the direction. Po and Tigress peaked over and saw in the midst of ducks, pigs, and bunnies a small kind and gentle looking female snow leopard. She had wrinkles here and there around her eyes, but they looked like ones that spoke of a happy life instead of a sad one. There was an air of peace around her. "She's a crazy woman!" Tai-Lung exclaimed.

"Um... Okay, you're going to have to explain," Po replied, not understanding how someone so peaceful looking could be so... crazy. Tai-Lung sighed.

"When I was about... 20-24, that snow leopard, Su and I dated. But when I tried to focus more on the Dragon Warrior title, she wouldn't let me go for a solid week!"

"Um... Tai." Po called.

"What makes you think that she's still interested in you now? She's got to at least be in her 50s," Tigress said.

"I'm not that old! Even with the time spent in the Spirit Realm," Tai-Lung harshly corrected.

"Tai," Po called again.

"And you think she's still going to jump you when she sees you?" Tigress asked with a smirk of doubt.

"YES! She couldn't stop holding onto me like a leech! I'm telling you, the moment she sees me, she'll go crazy," Tai-Lung promised.

"Um... I don't think she'll do that," Po said confidently yet almost surprised as well.

"Why?" Tigress asked. Po pointed to the snow leopard again. Tai-Lung looked over the cart to see the female snow leopard with an equally old male snow leopard. They both smiled as they picked the flowers from the cart. Soon, two couples of snow leopards came to her, joined with their small kids. They must be her grandchildren. Tai-Lung's face was stuck on surprise. He slowly emerged from the cart when Su noticed him. Her eyes lit up. She spoke a private word to her family and went over to them.

"We'll catch up with you," Po said as he and Tigress left to see the official. Tai-Lung stood there as the female snow leopard went up to him with a smile.

"Tai-Lung," She said, knowing exactly who it was. "It's good to see you."

"Su, it's good to... see you too," Tai-Lung slowly replied.

"I haven't seen you in so long. How have you been?" Su asked, obviously glad to see him.

"Great, great... um... working with the Furious Five for now," Tai-Lung said, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, I see. Well, you still have the body to do it," She saucily joked. "And what about that Dragon Warrior title? Have you gotten it?" She asked. Where had she been in the past 20 years?

"Um... kind of... gave up on it," Tai-Lung struggled to say. "Su, how have you been? I see that you have a family of your own." She started to pick up on Tai-Lung's nervousness and she laughed.

"Oh! Tai, you don't have to worry about what happened in the past. That was so long ago. We were children with dreams about the future that weren't meant for us," Su replied. "I've found the dream that was meant for me here, with my family. I hope you can forgive me for causing you so much trouble."

"No, no," Tai-Lung said, gently grabbing her hand. "Forgive me. Your husband is so lucky to have you. I should have seen your shine from the beginning," he confessed. Su smirked.

"Still the charmer I see," She replied, kissing him on the cheek. "Goodbye, Tai-Lung. I hope your life is well and full like my simple one has been. And I hope you'll attain your ambitions," She said, going back to her family. Tai-Lung stood there, frozen in time as Po and Tigress came back.

"We talked with the official. He was nice," Tigress simply said. Po waved his hand in front of Tai-Lung.

"Hey, you okay?" Po asked. Tai-Lung snapped awake.

"Yeah, yeah," He weakly said. He suddenly darted back to the Jade Palace without another word. Tigress simply shrugged, but Po was more concerned.

By the time the two finally got to the Jade Palace, Po started looking for Tai-Lung. He went into the Hall of Heroes. Something wasn't right. Everything seemed like it was in place, but something seemed missing. "Okay, Sword of Heroes, check, 10,001 scrolls, check, Fractured Urn of Whispering Warriors, check, Dragon Warrior scroll, check... Wait!" Po's eyes darted up and saw the scroll missing from its spot. "No, he wouldn't. It makes no sense," Po said went out the left door of the Hall of Heroes. He looked outside and Tai-Lung was standing there, facing the setting sun and the village below. Po could see the snow leopard holding the Dragon Warrior scroll, clenched in his hand. "Tai-Lung?"

"Po!" Tai-Lung jumped, turning around. Po's eyes widened at Tai-Lung's face. His eyes were red and puffy... as if he had been crying. "I'm... I'm sorry for taking the scroll I-" He quickly wiped his eyes.

"Tai-Lung, what's wrong? You've been acting weird ever since you talked with that snow leopard. What's happen?" Po asked. Tai-Lung looked at the ground before looking at the scroll.

"I've wasted my life," Tai-Lung slowly and softly said.

"I'm sorry?" Po asked.

"I HAVE WASTED MY ENTIRE LIFE!" Tai-Lung shouted, his voice echoing around the valley. "This... this stupid scroll! I've wasted my entire life, my whole ambition on this blank scroll! I broke every bone, tore every muscle, barely slept or ate just to get the 'ultimate power' that was hidden in this scroll. But the physical part wasn't the worst part. I ignored a loving relationship with my mentor, my foster father, I missed a chance to have a family and legacy in the form of children of my own. Heck, if I had just stayed at the Jade Palace, Tigress and I would probably be the closest friends! Why am I limiting myself? YOU And I could have been friends! And I wasted it all, on a piece of paper that was simply blank! To try and get something that I already had!"

Tai-Lung turned and faced Po head-on, pointing to him, "You were right when you said that I would never be able to handle being Dragon Warrior. I relied so much on my ambition to get me to greatness! Now, where am I? I am alone. I have made my friends my enemies. I am the infamous Tai-Lung who gave up his entire life. His entire blessed privileged life for a WORTHLESS SCROLL!" Tai-Lung shouted, throwing the scroll far off down the steps and to the valley. "My life is over. I've wasted so much time," Tai-Lung sighed, shaking a bit as if he were holding back the tears. Po rested his hand on his shoulder.

"You're still alive, though." Po smiled. "There's still time. And now that you know what a wasted life is like, go and find your life. Find out what makes you... you," Po smiled. Tai-Lung turned the panda. Po hugged the snow leopard as he and Tai-Lung dropped to their knees and Tai-Lung cried. "It's okay."

"I'm so... so sorry," Tai-Lung cried.

"It's okay," Po comforted. "But you do realize we have to get that 'worthless piece of paper' back, right?" Tai-Lung chuckled through his tears. What the two didn't know was Tigress was watching from afar, hearing their conversation. She slipped away, thinking about what Tai-Lung said. What about her? She had said to Master Shifu that being the Dragon Warrior and stopping Tai-Lung was what Shifu trained them for. Now, she had to question, what exactly did he train them for? Was Tigress... just wasting her time?

**Continued...**


	18. The truth is

The Truth is...

* * *

Viper, Po, and Tigress were in the kitchen. Po hungrily gobbled the food down, making Viper smile as she slowly ate her food. Tigress was cooking when Tai-Lung came in. The snow leopard greeted everyone with a tired hello. "Whoa, are you okay, Tai?" Viper asked.

"I'm fine, just a little tired," Tai-Lung said, sitting down. Suddenly, a plate of food was gently given to him by the tiger. Tai-Lung was deeply surprised, looking at Tigress who darted her gaze away from him. Why the kindness all of a sudden? Tai-Lung didn't know what to say, but he struggled to say something. Tigress, gritting her teeth in frustration was struggling to say something too. Po gave a loud sigh.

"Thank you Tigress for making food for me!" Po said, sounding like Tai-Lung.

"You're welcome, Tai-Lung," Viper responded, sounding like Tigress. Though silly, the two felines relaxed a bit. At least now the obvious was said.

"Geez, I don't get you two sometimes," Po muttered, getting up.

"Pride is a strong thing, Po," Viper smiled, slithering out with the panda in tow. Now the two were awkwardly left in the same room. Tai-Lung broke the 4-minute silence.

"So, I'm guessing you heard what I said to Po," Tai-Lung said very plainly and openly, "That's why you're being kind?"

"How did you-"

"I may not be able to hear you, but two and two always make four when you add them," Tai-Lung replied. Tigress sat down, looking at her own small plate. "I'm just surprised you're so accepting about it. I thought you would have accused me of using sentimentality."

"I did, but... what you said caused me to question something else," Tigress's body tensed. "I... I want to tell you... why I hate you." Tai-Lung's eyes widened.

"You mean... you know why," Tai-Lung asked to which Tigress nodded. "Why are you telling me? Why not Po?"

"Because it is easier to talk with Po. But the real... challenge is telling you. And I'd rather face my challenges head-on," Tigress said. She breathed in and out. "I hate you because... you made it nearly impossible to... please Master Shifu." Tigress slowly looked at the snow leopard. No face of holding back laughter, no snide gaze of disgust. Just a confused curious look wanting to know more.

"I... I don't understand." He said bewildered. "I thought that Master Shifu would have raised you much better than me."

"Why?"

"When we fought again, he told me that it was his pride that blinded him from what he was turning me into. An ambitious bastard that only cared for himself," Tai-Lung said, muttering more about himself than Master Shifu.

"I...," Tigress started, grabbing the snow leopard's attention, "I thought that getting the Dragon Warrior title would make him proud of me. I've only heard him say, 'I'm proud of you' one time in my entire life. **(As far as we know)**. I blamed Po relentlessly for taking the title away from. But it wasn't until seeing his determination and his struggle that I started to remember what it meant to be a warrior. But.." She paused, "I still didn't know what it meant to be Dragon Warrior. It wasn't until I went through the struggles with Po that I saw the pain and anguish that came with the title. And then I remember how he's dealt with us. If I were in his shoes-"

"You wouldn't have taken me from the spirit realm?" Tai-Lung guessed.

"No, I don't think I would have made the right choices. I would have made the choices that were the most reasonable and logical, but that doesn't make them the best choices. Odds are that I wouldn't have come to grips with Master Shifu's... lack of support in my life if we weren't going through the things we're going through now. You understanding the pain of having a wasted life and I..." She didn't finish the sentence. "Master Shifu never showed any kind of affection after you were imprisoned. Hehe, I remember when you were still around." Tai-Lung nervously chuckled.

The tiger and the snow leopard had seen each other before their fateful fight at the bridge. Tigress had just been adopted and about three months afterward Tai-Lung had been imprisoned. Tai-Lung wasn't too horrible with Tigress, but he did seem inattentive towards her when she would 'spy' on him.

"You were so horrible at spying," Tai-Lung chuckled. Tigress glared at him with a deadpanned face. "What? You were," Tai-Lung smirked.

"Anyways, Master Shifu was impossible to please. At very least you heard a 'well done'. For me, it was always more. He always demanded more... to the point I started isolating myself even when the others were here. The only person that helped me get out of that habit was... Po."

"Not Viper?"

"Viper was too respectful... or timid to really intrude."

"When did that isolation happen?" Tai-Lung asked, remembering a very exciting and curious Tigress when he was younger.

"I guess it was after the Furious Five had formed. Shifu was even stricter on us than ever, and since the Furious Five looked to me as the unofficial leader, he was the toughest on me," Tigress sighed. "But I never really got that time with him as you did. I actually hated you because things were difficult when you were imprisoned. Master Shifu wasn't the same. It wasn't until the panda came that everything started getting better." Tigress paused, "But he still hasn't really showed that kind of love to us. Just... Po."

"Tigress, you're not jealous of Po, are you?" Tai-Lung asked, immediately worried.

"No, no, it's just... he showed affection to you and then to Po... in a different way, but... I've..." Tigress sighed.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Tai-Lung slowly said, grabbing Tigress's attention. "I'm so sorry. I never knew that this stuff was going on. Had I known, I definitely wouldn't have been as disrespectful to you as I was." Tigress smirked.

"I think you would have, Old Spots," She grinned, making the snow leopard flinched.

"Po used that once. Don't start using 'old' next to my nickname," Tai-Lung grumbled, but he turned considerate again. "But I am sorry, Tigress, for what you've been through. Somehow, though, I know that Shifu is more proud of you than he was with me."

"How?" Tigress asked, not really believing him.

"Because you're not me," Tai-Lung pointed out. "If he was blind twice, you would be in the same place as me. Tigress, we're both ambitious and while my life on this place is limited, I don't want your life to be limited simply because some**one** hasn't openly cared for you. Instead, be with the people who are openly caring."

"Hey, Tigress?" Po called out.

"Okay, that's weird timing," Tai-Lung mentioned, causing Tigress to slightly smile.

"I need your help with the scrolls. Zeng is sick and I need someone to be my assistant for the day. I know it's a stupid job, but-"

"I'll do it," Tigress smiled, standing up.

"Really?" Po said truly surprised.

"Might as well add me too, Kitten," Tai-Lung teased. Po was doubly surprised to see the tiger not the least bothered by the term. She just seemed slightly annoyed. "I think you've been overworking yourself, panda. It's time we help you." Po slowly stopped.

"You two... working together... to help me?" Po restated.

"Yes," The two felines said.

"Okay, why the change in heart?" Po asked.

"Let's just say we've come to terms with each other," Tigress smirked to the smug Tai-Lung on her left side. Po sighed with a smile.

"I don't know whether to be glad or frightened," Po sighed as he led them to his study.

**Continued...**


	19. The Story of the Author

The Story of the Author

* * *

Tai-Lung caught the scrolls from the top shelf that Tigress was tossing to him. As Tai-Lung passed them over to Po, Po immediately snatched them up, started writing down everything that was listed and then giving it back. "Po, how is it that you're able to write so fast and so much? We can barely keep up!" Tai-Lung inquired. Po stopped his seemingly frantic writing. He sighed as he leaned back a bit in the chair before turning around and looking at the two of them.

"Well," He said as Tigress came back down from the ladder, "When I was young, other than cooking, there wasn't really much to do. While Kung fu was my passion, writing and reading were my hobbies," Po said. Tigress and Tai-Lung winced a bit uncontrollably.

"You... did something wrong on purpose, what was it?" Tigress asked the smirking panda.

"Reading and writing were my hobbies," Po replied, correctly. Tigress sighed as if it were a moment of relief. "I've learned a lot of secrets of how writing can impact people. That's how I learned most of the Kung Fu moves. I couldn't do them, but I know every move that's there." Tai-Lung thought about it.

"Hmm, maybe that's the difference between me and you, Po," The snow leopard acknowledged, "You're able to connect the moves in a way that is more than just muscle memory." Po shrugged. "But it doesn't explain why we're racing to catch up with you," Tai-Lung continued.

"I had a lot of time on my hand. You know, outsider, panda, looks different from all the bunnies, pigs, and ducks out in the village. Most times, I was a loner. Sure, everyone knew who I was and liked me, but they never really understood what I was going through. I never had really close friends... until I came here," Po replied. Tigress smiled.

"*Sniff* That was so beautiful," Tai-Lung playfully teased. Po rolled his eyes as he continued writing. "Did you ever write any-"

"Nope," Po answered quickly and abruptly.

"You didn't even know what I was going to say," Tai-Lung argued.

"Were you going to say if I've written anything like a story or something, right?" Po replied.

"Well, yeah-"

"No," Po said with a very blank smile that suggested he was lying as he kept on writing.

"Okay, when you're ready to come out with it, we'll be here to read your stories," Tai-Lung sighed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I appreciate the thought," Po quickly answered. Tigress looked at Tai-Lung before sighing.

"Actually, Po. Since Tai-Lung and I have... come to a workable mutual understanding-"

"That's one way of saying that you're not slapping each other," Po muttered. The two felines knew he was referring to their fight at Mr. Ping's shop, but they wondered how he knew. Then again, his father probably told him.

"We were wondering... when you mentioned potentially killing Tai-Lung, you said there was another you killed? When was that?" Tigress asked slowly.

"You really want to open that wound?" Tai-Lung asked Tigress, bracing for the panda's reaction.

"If it's too hard for-"

"No," Po said, standing up from his desk and turning to face them. "It's time you knew." Po sighed. "Well, let's just say that... being on stage people think that you're killing someone. So... I... act like I kill someone instead of actually doing it," Po smiled with a cheesy grin.

"Wait, so... huh?" Tai-Lung said confused. Tigress tilted her head in equal confusion.

"Well, I'm just saying that on stage the script says that you kill someone, so I 'killed' someone. Of course, the actor was fine, but the character in the story was dead," Po snickered a bit. Their gawking face made him finally came out with it. "I lied." He grinned like a cheeky child.

"I WILL TEAR YOU APART!" Tai-Lung growled, grabbing onto Po's shoulders and shaking him around. "Are you serious! You made us all think that you were some broken killer just so you could fix us from fighting!"

"Sometimes you have to be someone else in order for the greater good to go on." Po smiled. Tai-Lung stood there incredulous as Tigress pinched the top of her muzzle. "Hey, you have to understand that it wasn't easy for me to get you two to listen! What would you have done?"

"Gotten Master Shifu," Tai and Tigress said in unison.

"Oh no, no, no. And have him dangle the fact that I ran this place into chaos. No," Po said swiping his hands in front of him to emphasize his point.

"Wait! So wait, getting Master Shifu here _wasn't_ going to make things worse?" Tigress asked.

"Oh, it would have. But the 'never let Po be in charge' thing would have definitely been a bad addition," Po replied. Tai-Lung and Tigress just sighed in ultimate defeat. Suddenly, a knock on the door came. Po opened it to see a scroll with the initials JL on it. "Jai-Ling."

"I don't understand why he's so secretive," Tigress mentioned as Po read the scroll. He twisted his face in confusion. "What?"

"Um... Jai-Ling wants you two to patrol the area around my dad's shop," Po said. "Uh, well on the bright side I don't have to worry about you two destroying the shop. Do I?" Po asked in surprising seriousness.

"No, Master Po," the two felines said. Po chuckled, slinging his arms around both of them.

"Have fun you two, my dad usually tries to get my friends to work for him around this time of the day."

"And you're not coming?" Tai-Lung said raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not, what are you crazy?" Po said in nervous laughter. Tai-Lung rolled his eyes as he raced down the mountain. Tigress stood a bit longer with Po's arm slung around her.

"Um, Tigress?" Po asked, noticing the tiger wasn't really following Tai-Lung.

"OH! Sorry, Master Po," Tigress quickly said, racing after Tai-Lung. Truth be told, Tigress was a little bit at ease whenever Po made physical contact with her. She couldn't explain it, but she liked it. She shook her head as she caught up with Tai-Lung at the shop. The snow leopard's arrogant smirk annoyed her because she knew what he was going to say.

"You're getting slow, Kitten," He gently teased.

"I just wanted to give you a win for today, Spots," She replied with equal playfulness.

"Hehe, but seriously, what did Po say that kept you?" Tai-Lung asked.

"Um..." Tigress had to think of something quickly, "He... just wanted to congratulate me at dealing with you."

"Well, you deserve it," Tai-Lung said humbly, astonishing Tigress. "What? You do." Tigress could only smile. That meeting with old snow leopard really changed him.

"Thank you, Tai-Lung," she replied. Suddenly, a well-known goose popped at the entry.

"Eh, you two are my son's friends, right?" Quaked the goose. **(Ah puns)**

"Uh-"

"Good," Mr. Ping quickly finished, ushering the two into the shop. "I need you two to help me with this boy's stuff."

"Wait, shouldn't Po be doing this?" Tai-Lung grumbling, not wanting to be a janitor.

"I wish, but he's been dodging it ever since I've asked him. I need to get rid of something of his. He says he's okay with me throwing them out, but he won't do it," Mr. Ping griped.

"Maybe it's because he wants to keep them," Tigress replied.

"Yeah, but these scrolls of his nonsense stories are-"

"Wait, you said his stories?" Tai-Lung almost childishly said, spinning around the bird and quickly pushing the goose into the kitchen as he smiled almost deviously.

"Tai-Lung."

"You can **_not_** tell me you're not the LEAST curious," Tai-Lung answered the tiger in almost child-like excitement. Tigress only huffed as Mr. Ping unlocked a door in the back. It was littered with papers. Mr. Ping handed the two a pair of bags. "How about this, we'll store these at the Jade Palace until Po can find a place for them," Tai-Lung proposed.

"Fine, I don't care. Just get these scrolls out," Mr. Ping said, leaving the two to clean and closing the door behind them. For a moment, you would have thought that Tai-Lung was a giddy child on Christmas.

"Hehe, let's see what the panda's been hiding."

"You're so childish," Tigress said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh come on, these are just his stories. Not private diaries. Hey, I bet there's one with you in here," Tai-Lung teased as he started reading some of the panda's work while Tigress simply worked on cleaning up. Suddenly, Tai-Lung's tone changed. "Whoa."

"What?"

"Po is... amazing! This panda's stories are amazing! I just read one of his short stories and it's already astonishing. Tigress, we have to convince Po to publish these things," Tai-Lung said, "They're too good."

"They can't be that good," Tigress said, trying to calm down the snow leopard.

"Read them and see," Tai-Lung challenged, starting to pick up some of the scrolls. "Forget storage, I'm keeping some of these stories for myself. I have a new hobby!"

"Glad that you've found a new ambition," Tigress smirked. She was picking up some of the scrolls when she saw in the littered pile a couple of yellow-backed scrolls, much like the Dragon Warrior scroll. There was one in particular that caught her eyes. She could see the title **Bones** for the title. "Huh." Tigres looked back, making sure that Tai-Lung wasn't looking. She picked it up and unrolled it. The title said **Mr. Bones and Mrs. Flower**. It sounded very oxymoronic. Tigress was interested. What was it that Po could possibly say about Mr. Bones' psyche? And who was Mrs. Flower?

Unfortunately, Tigress had picked up the middle part of the story. She quickly made out the themes. Mr. Bones having a girl imprisoned that just happened to be the officer trying to take him down. But... there was something different about their relationship. Tigress was reading until she came to the part where the girl, named Mr. Flower, a feline by coincidence, was asking Mr. Bones if he had ever tasted any delicacies. Tigress's eyes widened as she kept reading the more...erotic part of the story. Tigress started blushing. Po had been very... descriptive about what happened between the two... very much so. "What are yo-"

"NOTHING!" She practically screaming, jumping to her feet and shivering like a leaf.

"Oooooooooo...kay," Tai-Lung with confusion written all over his face. "Which story did you read?"

"Um... horror, yeah, horror. Po just made me jumpy that's all," Tigress said, slipping the scroll into her vest. "Let's just get these things packed up." Tigress quickly and anxiously replied. Tai-Lung was suspicious but continued on his work.

**Continued...**


	20. Secrets of the tiger

Secrets of the Tiger

* * *

Po was a red panda in the cheeks as Tai-Lung told him what they were doing at the goose's place. "Please, Po! Let us read the rest of these. We promise not to tell anyone."

"It's... it's not just that," Po sighed, blushing harder with an upset look on his face, "Some of them... are more... private than others."

"Okay, then why don't you just go through the scrolls and tell us which ones are 'safe' to read," Tai-Lung teased the already embarrassed panda. "But uh," He spoke privately, "If you're as good at writing 'those' kinds of stories as you are with the others, could you umm..."

"Say no more, please," Po groaned.

"Thanks, But um... just asking for a friend," Tai-Lung said. Tigress had already given the panda his scrolls and claimed she was going to bed early. The sun hadn't even set yet, but she said she wasn't feeling well. In truth, she went to read more of Mr. Bones and Mrs. Flower. As the sun started to finally set, Tigress fell asleep. In her sleep, she had a weird dream about claws, roses, and all under the impression that she was burning from the inside out. Soon a face formed in front of her. A panda, devious yet strangely alluring. Tigress felt restricted as the feeling of claws lightly grazing her fur went down to her stomach. But then the panda's face came closer and for a moment, the soft tenderness of his lips almost felt-

Suddenly, Tigress jumped up from her sleep, panting for breath. "Are you okay?" Tai-Lung asked, going over to wake her up. "You overslept again."

"I'm fine, please get out of my room," Tigress hastily said. Her eyes finally registered the light of the rising sun. Tai-Lung stared at her, concerned. Then he sniffed. It seemed as if his sniff was the loudest thing to Tigress's ears. She knew what he was obviously smelling. It was all because of that stupid dream she had. A particularly... erotic dream. Her eyes bugged out, swinging her head over to Tai-Lung who had the same face of shocking realization. "GET OUT!"

"Sorry!" Tai-Lung exclaimed, darting out the door and into the safety of the kitchen.

"What's wrong with Tigress?" Po asked.

"You don't want to know," Tai-Lung replied, shaking just a bit.

"What, did you see her naked or something," Monkey joked, "You know that at your age that's almost considered being a pedophile."

"Not funny, Monkey," Tai-Lung grunted as the snow leopard quickly took his food and went outside. Tigress soon came in.

"Hhhello, everyone," She stuttered. Viper and Po were the first to question if there was anything going on. "Nothing, nothing. Um... do you know where Tai-Lung went?"

"He went to eat outside. I don't know why. What happened, Tigress?" Viper asked. Tigress shook her head. Tai-Lung wouldn't tell anyone. Probably because no one would believe him and recently he didn't' seem like the type of person to do that.

"Nothing, he just woke me up at a very... wrong time," Tigress replied hastily. Grabbing her food and sitting down, she barely listened to the conversation that the others were talking about. She could still feel and see the face and feelings of that dream. The tiger glanced up at Po who was laughing at one of Monkey's jokes. Po gave an open-mouth grin. Tigress's mind immediately flashed back to the dream and she felt a hot flash run up her body and seem to stop at her heart.

"Tigress, are you okay?" Viper asked. Tigress shook her head awake.

"I have to train," She excused herself and quickly rushed out the door. Po seemed worried. As Tigress walked to the door of the Training Hall, she turned the corner to see Tai-Lung standing in front of it. She growled at the fact she had to stop to ask him to move, greatly annoyed. Of course, it could be because of that dream. "Tai-Lung could you please move."

"Not until you tell me what's going on? I understand that you had one of... those dreams, but that's usually because your head was thinking about something prior to that. So..." Tigress's eyes darted away from the snow leopard, impatiently trying to find an excuse. "Does it involve Po?"

"No!" Tigress quickly answered, snapping her neck to face him. Tai-Lung didn't seem convinced. "I wouldn't tell you anyway." She said, trying to get into the Training Hall.

"No one would believe me," Tai-Lung replied, voicing her prior logic. "And from what I've learned, you can't just fight through those dreams."

"Excuse me?" Tigress asked with impatient rage. Tai-Lung sighed.

"Tigress, you're just like the rest of us," Tai-Lung pointed out, "We all have urges and accidents... just like the one I smelled. I won't tell anyone-"

"Thank you," Tigress said relieved.

"But maybe talking about it may help you."

"There is no way that talking to _you_ about this will help me," Tigress muttered, finally getting past him and going into the hall.

"Okay, then Viper?"

"She wouldn't be the right person to talk about this," Tigress replied.

"Master Shifu?" Tigress looked back at him as if he was crazy. "It was worth a shot. He did raise you."

"No."

"P-"

"Absolutely Not!" Tigress exclaimed at that point. Tai-Lung then had a general idea of who she had dreamt about. Tai-Lung sighed.

"Well, then your options are a bit limited," Tai-Lung replied, going out. "I hope you can manage what you're going through, Kitten."

"I will," Tigress answered as Tai-Lung left, but she wasn't too sure about it. Throughout the entire day, Tigress tried her best to avoid Po. Tai-Lung growled as he saw his younger sister dance around the truth as best she could. He decided to do a little snooping.

"Grand-master Po," He started out, going to the panda while the tiger was training. "Could you and Master Tigress go down to the village? Zeng told me there were sightings of a mysterious duck in the village. It could be Jai-Ling." Po rose up, thinking about it.

"Okay, but why do you want Tigress and me to go?" Po asked suspiciously. Tai-Lung rolled his eyes to convince the panda.

"Because I need some peace and quiet. She and I may be on goodish terms now, but I want some time to myself," The snow leopard replied. Po gave a smile as he called Tigress over and they both went down to the village. Tai-Lung snuck into Tigress's room, but someone caught a glimpse of him. As the snow leopard was rummaging around, a voice alarmed him.

"Looking for something?"

"HA!" Tai-Lung exclaimed, getting into a fighting stance by instinct. "Oh, it's just you Crane."

"Ah, yes, it's just Crane. The awkward bird of the team," Crane awkwardly grinned.

"Master Crane, I didn't mean it-"

"It's okay, I'm just kidding," Crane smiled as he walked in. "Soooo, what are you doing?" Crane asked.

"I'm trying to find something that Master Tigress is hiding from me," Tai-Lung muttered, bending to his knees and looking under the cat's bed.

"Your dignity and honor?" Crane asked. Tai-Lung stood back up and glared at the bird. "What, they could very well be down there." Crane smiled.

"Hm, I forget that you're the 'quietly honest' member of the team," Tai-Lung grumbled. "I'm looking for something that is new in her room."

"Oh, you mean like that scroll under the desk?" Crane pointed out. Tai-Lung looked at the desk and he was about to grab it, but then he stopped. He looked at Crane with a questioning look. "I... I have this weird thing where I kinda memorize the spatial location of my friends' rooms. It's kind of unintentional."

"Duly noted," Tai-Lung said, grabbing the scroll. "Come on, the longer we're here, the more likely she'll know that it was us," Tai-Lung said quickly stepping out of the room with Crane. Tai-Lung opened the scroll. "Huh, it's one of the scrolls that Po wrote. It's one of his stories."

"Why would she have that one?" Crane asked. Tai-Lung shrugged as he opened the scroll and started looking over the title. Suddenly, Tai-Lung's eyes widened as he dashed back into Tigress's room, fumbled to plant the scroll where he found it and darted out the room. "What was it?" The bird asked.

"Um... well... let's just say it's a very... interesting love story about Mr. Bones," Tai-Lung struggled to say, coughing to clear his throat. Crane's eyes widened as his beak dropped. "Yeah."

"Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. First, why would Tigress have that scroll? Second, why would Po write something like that?" Crane asked.

"The first one is easy enough. Tigress and I were cleaning out Po's old story room. She must have gotten that one," Tai-Lun said. Of course, that didn't explain why she kept it, but that was to be solved another day. "The other one... I don't know. It's obvious that Po wrote it when he was young. Probably during his acting days. I just didn't think he would be that vivid. I wonder if... Ah!" Tai-Lung exclaimed, having a eureka moment. "I think I know why."

"Care to share?" Crane asked. Tai-Lung rubbed the back of his neck smiling a bit.

"Sorry, Master Crane. It would be disrespectful to Tigress to say out loud. Plus, I don't think it would be right to discuss matters of the heart so openly." the snow leopard replied cryptically. Crane stared at Tai-Lung for a moment.

"Oh," He said a bit dejected. But then he suddenly understood what Tai-Lung was saying. "OH!" Crane's eyes widened as Tai-Lung nodded, confirming his thinking. Slowly, though, an easy-going smile came to Crane's face as he started walking towards the Training Hall. "It's about time."

"So you've known?"

"Please, everyone's known. Before you came, Tigress and Po were always seen with each other. You couldn't see one without the other." Crane replied.

"And of course, I messed things up," Tai-Lung slowly feeling the guilt coming on.

"Well, not really. If anything, you force her to take her feelings into consideration. Not many people can do that while constantly attacking their enemy," Crane smiled offsetting the snow leopard's insulted quiet face.

"Thank you, I feel better," Tai grumbled under his breath. Crane shrugged his shoulders while tilting his head.

"Do you think she'll know that it was us," Crane asked as they head towards the Training Hall. Tai-Lung smiled, laughing a bit.

"She won't know anything," Tai-Lung replied confidently. However, when Tigress went back to her room after Tai-Lung's goose chase **(Pardon the pun), **she went back to her room and found a small hint of a feather and the faint scent of Tai-Lung. She growled, storming over to the Training Hall where the two were and brazenly glared at them with a fire in her eyes.

"Tai-Lung, Crane," She slowly yet powerfully growled. "Why were you in my room?" The two guilty parties looked at each other in fear.

"Run?" Crane asked.

"Without question," Tai-Lung agreed, darting out the room with Tigress right after them.

**Continued...**


	21. Dark Wing

The Dark Wing

* * *

"Geez, I never thought pain would feel this way," Crane groaned, rubbing his sore wing.

"Did you have to be so rough with them," Po sighed, looking at the battered two. Tigress stood erect as she huffed.

"They were trespassing."

"And? Monkey's gone in your room dozen of times," Po revealed. "Oops!"

"He what," Tigress lowly grumbled. Tigress shook her head. "That's not the point. Why were you two in my room? Especially you, Tai-Lung," Tigress growled, having an idea why he was there. Tai-Lung, a little sore in his arm from the beating that he took from Tigress, smirked a bit.

"Are you sure that you want to talk about this in front of Po, Kitten?" He teased. Tigress suddenly panicked.

"Why do I-"

"Po," Crane interrupted, "Why don't you go and give Master Tigress and us some peace. We have some apologizing to do."

"Aw come on," Po fretted. "Why?"

"Because it's best that we do this alone. Please?" Crane kindly asked. Po sighed.

"Fine, but if I hear any bones cracking, you all are in trouble," Po conditioned, gesturing with his two fingers, pointing at his eyes and then at everyone else as he left the room. Tai-Lung's eyebrow rose.

"Why did you-"

"If you were to embarrass her in front of him, who's fault would it be if their relationship was strained," Crane whispered to the snow leopard. Tai-Lung nodded in agreement, slowly relenting his teasing. The snow leopard sighed.

"We're sorry, Tigress. We didn't mean-" Crane coughed. "I didn't mean to invade your privacy."

"Then why did you?"

"To figure out what was bothering you. And um... we found the scroll that... um... Po wrote," Tai-Lung uncomfortably said. Tigress's eyes narrowed at him.

"If you dare tell one person about that scroll, I will-"

"We won't," Tai-Lung quickly promised, "But why are you so secretive about it? It's just a story." Tigress's eyes darted away from Tai-Lung, looking at the floor as she rubbed her arms. Crane sighed.

"Tigress, pride and dignity has always been something that's kept you from doing things that require you to be vulnerable. Sure, I wouldn't tell Monkey, but we've been with you for a while now. Forget Tai-Lung."

"Hey," Tai-Lung warned.

"If I haven't earned that trust with you, then what has all those years been? Just me _thinking_ I was friends with a very caring and passionate person?" Tigress looked at her feathered friend and slowly walked away from them. Not far, just a few feet. She sighed heavily as she turned around to face them.

"I... I think I like Po," Tigress begrudgingly said. She waited for their response, but it looked like they were impatient to hear more.

"And... What else?" Tai-Lung asked.

"That's it." Tigress replied. Tai-Lung rolled his eyes.

"Tigress, you obviously had an sensual dream about the scroll you found. What about that?" Tai-Lung asked. Tigress tensed up, turning around.

"I don't know, it just made me feel... different," Tigress shivered, lightly touching her lips. Tai-Lung was about to reply, but Crane stopped him as he slowly rested his hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. I guess that Po isn't your first, right?" Tigress shook her head. "These things happen. Besides, you probably just had that dream because you were reading that scroll."

"Hmm, I guess so," Tigress replied. Tai-Lung sighed, deciding to take a different approach.

"Then I guess it's best to give the scroll back to-"

"No," Tigress quickly and ferociously replied. The reply stunned everyone in the room. "I mean... not yet."

"Tigress, if you're worried about Po finding out you had it, we can just give it to him and say we forgot it when we were cleaning out the room," Tai-Lung proposed.

"Not... not yet," Tigress stuttered. Tai-Lung and Crane looked at each other. "It's complicated." Tai-Lung sighed.

"So be it," He said, raising his hands in defeat as he and Crane left. Tai-Lung sighed as the they went to the courtyard. "She's scared."

"It wasn't obvious?" Crane rhetorically said. Tai-Lung sighed. "She'll figure it out."

"I hope so. Otherwise, people like Lu-Chang and other feline women are in trouble with her," Tai-Lung mentioned. Crane's eyebrow rose a bit.

"And what about you? What's your love life going to look like?" Crane asked. Tai-Lung burst in laughter.

"HAHAHAHA! Don't make me laugh so hard, Crane. I'm what, late 40s? There's no way that any kind of love is going to come into my life." the snow leopard replied. The avian simply shrugged.

"I didn't think that Po was going to be the Dragon Warrior to defeat you. I didn't think that Master Shifu would ever return to the way he was before you left. I didn't think that the enemies that Po faced could be beaten. I didn't think that he would let you return back to the real world. I didn't think that you would ever change your attitude-"

"What are you getting at?" Tai-Lung asked, getting tired of the bird's repetition. Crane smiled.

"I've learned to stop doubting that the impossible is possible," Crane replied. "But what do I know? I'm just the awkward bird of the team." With that, Crane left the snow leopard with more questions than answers.

The next day, Tai-Lung saw that Tigress was a little easier around Po, almost to the point that it looked like she had forgotten about the whole ordeal. Po's face was twitching and twisting into different fearsome and silly faces. "Um... what are you doing?" Tai-Lung asked.

"I'm trying to find a new character to act out," Po replied. Tigress and Tai-Lung looked at each other.

"Um... come again?" Tai-Lung asked confused. Po sighed.

"I'm trying to see if I can be a less severe villain than Mr. Bones," Po replied, "The problem with his character is that it's so weird that most people wouldn't believe it. They might call out my bluff." Tigress sighed, resting her hand on Po's shoulder.

"Po, I think it's best that you keep the acting part of your life to the hero character. Seeing you as the villain is..."

"Frightening," Tai-Lung finished.

"Why?" Po asked, curious. The two felines looked at each other. "What? Everyone has a dark side to them. A side that they would rather not talk about."

"Like your 'private scrolls'," Tai teased.

"Tai-Lung," both Po and Tigress grunted. The two looked at each other briefly before averting their eyes.

"The point is that Mr. Bones... and other things are a part of that dark side. Like you, Tai-Lung. There were some good things and bad things about you. You just chose to focus more on the bad things when you were younger," Po explained. Tai-Lung shrugged as Crane walked in.

"Master Po, I need Tigress and Tai-Lung to go with me and Mantis to this village," Crane said slowly.

"Another Jai-Ling mission?"

"No," Crane sighed, "It's... personal for me." Tigress and Tai looked at each other in concern. "Well?"

"We'll be there in a minute," Tai-Lung answered the impatient Crane. The bird darted off to get Mantis. "What could the bird have to worry about?"

"Like I said, everyone has a part of them that they don't want to talk about," Po shrugged. Tigress was worried. The two males in the room could understand why. Crane was one of her good friends, the most level-headed one of all the Furious Five. What secret could he be keeping?

**Continued...**


	22. Nothing is as it seems

Not Everything is as It Seems

* * *

The company of four left in silence, mostly caused by the anxious bird. "Okay, man, what's the problem?" Mantis broke the silence almost immediately. "You've been nervous since we've gotten to the border of the village. Why are we even going to this place?"

"Because!" Crane shouted. He regained his composure and talked calmer. "Because this is a delicate matter. We're going to the place where I used to be a janitor."

"You used to be a janitor?" Tai-Lung asked. Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Try and keep up with Po's stories," She muttered, slightly ticking off the snow leopard. But before he could reply, Crane spoke up.

"Could you two please not annoy each other! We already have an issue on our hands," Crane muttered. Now they knew something big was up.

"Crane," Tigress said gently, stopping the bird in his tracks. "What's wrong?" Crane looked at her, sighing as he sat down on a small boulder. He took off his hat. Tigress could only name a few times when Crane took off his hat. When he was sleeping, when it came off by the wind, or when he was being gravely serious.

"A friend of mine, Li, messaged me from the school. You know Mei-Ling?"

"The best student there. Yeah. What's wrong with her?" Mantis questioned.

"Well, Li says that she's been dating this boyfriend. Big guy. A huge male tiger. His name is Morin."

"And?" Tai-Lung said, urging him to get to the point.

"Li said that something wasn't right with them being together. Mei-Ling's been showing up with bruises and scrapes that weren't from practice or sparring. At first, he thought that it was because she was getting slower. But that wasn't it, she had a black eye a couple of weeks ago." Tigress's eyes widened.

"Her boyfriend is abusing her?" Tigress asked. "Why doesn't she just break up with him?"

"Or break him?" Tai-Lung added.

"I don't know, that's why I'm in a rush to get there. So pardon my frankness when-... wait, where's Mantis?" Crane asked as they looked around.

"Come on!" Mantis shouted in front of them. "Let's get moving! We have a friend to save!" Mantis hopped off as the three followed him.

The four finally arrived at the Lee-Dong academy, where Crane's journey to becoming a Kung Fu master started. "It feels so weird coming back after all this time," Crane nervously chuckled.

"You get used to it," Tai-Lung said from experience. Soon Crane saw a familiar male snow leopard. He was smaller than Tai-Lung, both in height and bulk, really lean.

"Li!" Crane called. The snow leopard turned, running over to the bird and hugging him tightly.

"Crane, it's so good to see you!" Li smiled, "I'm glad you got my message."

"I'm glad I could make it," Crane smiled back, "Li, this is Master Tigress, Tai-Lung, and Mantis." Li's eyes widened at the bigger snow leopard. "Don't worry about Tai-Lung, he doesn't bite and he won't harm you."

"Yet," Tigress smirked.

"Hush," Tai-Lung muttered to the tiger.

"Oh... well, I guess you need all the help you could get, but why didn't you just come alone? I told you, Mei-Ling would listen to _you_ better," Li replied.

"I know, but these guys are here for support. When I heard the message, I was worried." Crane explained. Li's eyes looked at him up and down with an emotionless face.

"Is that a problem, Mr. Li?"

"Master Li," Li corrected snow leopard. "And if everything goes well, Grand-master soon."

"Really?" Crane asked, truly surprised.

"Yeah, the Grand-master was thinking of retiring, but then this started happening," Li sighed. The small snow leopard led them to a sparring arena where the mountain cat and a huge male white tiger started sparring. Tai-Lung's eyes widened.

"That's... Mei-Ling?" Tai asked. Li nodded. Tai-Lung watched silently as the mountain cat gracefully rolled out the way and attacked the big tiger on his side with her boa-staff. Morin tumbled over, falling flat on his face.

"And that's Morin," Li sighed.

"He looks a bit uncoordinated," Tai-Lung mentioned.

"He is when he's practicing with a boa-staff. But in hand-to-hand he's pretty superb," Li replied. Tigress couldn't help but notice the angry glare in the small snow leopard's eye. She had seen that gaze before.

"AH!" cried the tiger. "Watch it, Mei!"

"Oops sorry!" Mei-Ling squeaked. Tai-Lung looked at his striped comrade. This was the person abusing Mei-Ling? Of course, Po's statement about people did leave him questioning. Morin growled in defeat as he walked away. Mei-Ling sighed, but she turned her head to see Crane. Her face lit up as she jumped out of the arena and hugged Crane. "Crane! It's so good to see you," Mei-Ling happily said.

"And it's good to see you, though I wish it was for a different reason," Crane said seriously. Mei-Ling pulled away, nervously darting her eyes.

"Wh... what do you mean?" Mei-Ling asked anxiously. Crane made sure that they were the only company to hear what he was going to say.

"We know that Morin is abusing you," Crane said. Mei-Ling's head whipped to Li in a glowering growl.

"Li! I told you not include anyone else!" Mei-Ling lowly grunted. Tai couldn't help take note of her face.

"I had to, Mei. If not to convince you to do the right thing," Li said unemotionally.

"You little!"

"That's enough," Crane stopped Mei-Ling, "Li was only trying to protect you." Mei-Ling glared at Li before talking.

"I promise you, Crane. It's not what you think," Mei-Ling replied, storming away.

"Mei," Crane called out, but Tai-Lung stopped him.

"Give her some space. I should know that sometimes women need an area to rage their emotions," Tai-Lung said, looking at Tigress. The tiger rolled her eyes.

"Her bruises seem to heal up fast," Tigress commented to Li.

"Well, she's been doing her best to cover them up," Li sighed.

"And you can't report this to the Grandmaster because...?" Tai-Lung asked.

"Mei-Ling IS the Grandmaster," Li sighed. Crane's eyes widened.

"Really!? When?" Crane exclaimed.

"Then why not just expel him?" Tai-Lung asked.

"He's has some kind of blackmail on her. I don't know what, but he won't say anything. I've tried," Li sighed. "The best thing now is to convince Mei-Ling to expel him."

"What about-"

"We will," Tigress interrupted the crane. "But we're a little tired from the trip."

"But it was only a couple of miles," Mantis mentioned. Tigress growled at him to shut him up. "I mean, oh... my aching... things."

"If you could just direct us to our rooms," Tigress said. Li looked at them suspiciously before showing them their rooms.

"Thank you all for coming, but Crane, I know she'll listen to you more than she could me," Li sighed, leaving the group.

"I'm going to find Mei-Ling," Crane declared.

"Crane, wait," Tigress halted him as she directed him to sit down. "We need to talk to you."

"Huh? What about?" Tigress and Tai-Lung looked at each other.

"Something isn't right," Tai-Lung said.

**Continued...**


	23. Honesty's slave

Honesty's Slave

* * *

"What do you mean?" Crane asked impatiently. Tigress and Tai-Lung waited until they heard Li out of range.

"Something about this whole situation doesn't make sense. Think: if Mei-Ling were being abused by Morin, it wouldn't matter what kind of blackmail he had on her. The whole school would agree with her."

"Not only that," Tigress added to Tai-Lung's argument, "I've seen abuse wounds, they don't heal up the same way. There weren't any kind of bruises on her body."

"So she hides it well. What's your point?" Crane questioned. Tigress and Tai-Lung looked at each other. Tai-Lung sighed, rubbing his head with two fingers. He knew this would be difficult.

"How long have Mei-Ling and Li known each other?" Tigress asked.

"Since I've been the janitor, why?"

"And he's been here all this time," Tai-Lung asked.

"Yes, what are you getting at?" Crane demanded to know. Tigress and Tai-Lung looked at each other. Mantis spoke up.

"I think we should talk to Morin. Get his side of the story."

"What's to get? He's an abuser!" Crane exclaimed.

"Crane," Tigress calmly said, "You and I both know that not everything is as it seems."

"What are you suggesting?" Crane argued.

"Nothing, bird," Tai-Lung said more directly. "We're just telling you to calm down a bit. Think for a moment." Then he looked at Tigress. "Were we like this?"

"Yes," Mantis muttered honestly.

"Okay, we'll talk to Morin. Question him all you like, but it won't sway me."

"Mantis, stay here, make sure that no one knows that we left," Tigress ordered.

"Got it!" Mantis assured them as they crawled out the window. The night moon made it easier for them to be undetected as they slowly made their way to the misty lake right beneath the school. There, the white tiger was skipping rocks, obviously depressed.

"Well, he seems to be having fun," Tai-Lung muttered as they came out of hiding. "Excuse me, Mr. Morin?" the tiger jumped, stumbling to his feet.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there. I was- Whoa! You're Master Crane!" Morin marveled, grabbing the bird's wing and shaking it vigorously. "It's such an honor to see you, sir, uh... master I mean," He pulled his hand away and bowed properly. "You grace me with your presence, Masters."

"Um... thanks?" Crane said, majorly caught off guard.

"And you're Master Tigress, and you're-"

"We know who we are," Tai-Lung muttered, "Listen, we couldn't help but notice that you were looking a little depressed."

"Oh... yeah," Morin sighed, turning his back to the master, looking at the misty lake. "It's my girlfriend. We're having a problem."

"You mean Mei-Ling?" Tigress mentioned. The tiger nodded. "What's the problem?"

"I don't know. She won't tell me," Morin sighed. "She's been more distant, hitting me more in the spars we have, and she won't talk to me anymore. I don't know what's been going on."

"Hm, has she ever mentioned any... wounds or bruises?" Tigress asked.

"Are you kidding? You saw when we were sparring, I was the one getting the bruises," Morin mentioned. Tigress and Tai-Lung looked at each other.

"Mr. Morin, we... we came because we heard that master-"

"Grand-master," Morin corrected, smiling a bit. "Trust me, she is _very_ particular about that," He laughed.

"Right. Grand-master Mei-Ling was being abused by someone close to her." The white tiger's eyes shot open.

"And you think... I did it!" Morin exclaimed. "No! No, no, no! I would never! How could I?!"

"There's always a dark side to everyone," Tai-Lung mentioned.

"Listen, the angriest I get is at losing, but that's because I'm a bad loser. I would never hurt Mei-Ling! She could just expel me if I did."

"There was some mention of blackmail?" Tigress pointed out. Morin threw his hands up in the air.

"What blackmail?! The only-" He stopped. "Nothing."

"What?" Crane squawked ferociously.

"Well, about ten months into our relationship, Mei-Ling did mention a secret to me that she didn't want anyone else talking about. But it's secret and I can't tell you," Morin said.

"I was her best friend, what secret could she possibly have?" Crane grunted. Morin sighed.

"She...cheated on her entry exam," Morin whispered. Crane's eyes widened. "She knew she could do well in this school, but the exam means everything. You know that, Master Crane. But I would never blackmail her over that. I'm new here, too. Why would they believe me?"

"They-" Crane stopped, reflecting on his words. "They wouldn't. They wouldn't believe you."

"Right!" Morin replied.

"So who would?" Tai-Lung asked himself. "Is there anyone else who knows about that secret?"

"I wouldn't know," Morin sighed. Tigress thought for a moment.

"What about Li? How are you with him? Are you good friends?" She asked.

"Yeah, before I entered school. He was the one that persuaded me to be in the school. Of course, I've been meaning to ask Mei-Ling to get me out-"

"Wait, you were going to leave?"

"Yeah, I was thinking of settling down, but... I don't know if I can settle down with Mei-Ling since she doesn't trust me that much."

"I don't think it's trust," Tai-Lung muttered, "But what about Li?"

"He and I used to be good friends until I got into this school. Then he started giving me the cold shoulder." Tigress and Tai-Lung looked at each other.

"Thank you, Morin." Tai-Lung bowed as the three left. "Well, what are you thinking, Crane?"

"I think I just made a fool of myself," Crane sighed. "I can't believe this."

"We still have Mei-Ling to talk to before we can rule out anything," Tai-Lung reminded him.

"Hmm, I think we should wait until dawn. That's when she has her morning classes," Crane replied.

When dawn hit, the four of them went to the arena where they saw Mei-Ling training by herself, along with Li by the sidelines watching her. "Hmm, this is no good. She's not going to say anything with Li watching her," Tigress mentioned. Tai-Lung looked to training racks in the left corner. He grabbed a small boa-staff.

"Not if she has a real injury," Tai-Lung smirked. "Talk with Li for a while, stall until I can get something out of Mei-Ling."

"Tai, be careful with her," Tigress warned. Tai-Lung only smirked cockily as he jumped into the arena.

"He's not going to do what I think he's going to do, right?" Crane asked.

"With Tai-Lung, it's hard to know," Tigress muttered as they went over to the smaller snow leopard.

"Ah, masters. I hope your sleep was good." Li greeted them with a smile.

"Yes, it was. Um... Li, could you explain a little bit more about Mei-Ling? How did she get to become the Grandmaster, and why wasn't I told about it," Crane asked. Li frowned a bit, but then laughed.

"Oh well, you know Grandmaster Porin from before?" Crane nodded, "Well, he gave the title to her. She showed the most promise and so it was rightfully given to her. Actually, he's supposed to come back in a few days to check on her, that's why it's important that you get Mei-Ling to reveal her situation quickly."

"What about you? What is your role right now?" Tigress asked. Li shrugged.

"I've kind of become Mei-Ling's runner-boy. It's not much, but it pays," Li said. "Do you plan to talk with Mei-Ling soon?"

"AAHH!" shouted the mountain cat, getting knocked onto the ground.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Tai-Lung apologized, immediately looking at her leg. "Your foot is swollen." Li and the others jumped into the arena.

"What happened?" Crane asked.

"Nothing, he just caught me off guard a little. Ahh, hurt my foot really badly," Mei-Ling griped.

"I'll take her to the ward."

"No," Tai-Lung stopped him. "I'm the one who caused this, it's my duty to make sure that my sparring partner is okay." Without warning, Tai-Lung scooped Mei-Ling into his arms, carrying her.

"Ohh! Um... thank you," Mei-Ling stuttered. Tai-Lung cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I think I-"

"Don't worry about it, Li. Tai-Lung will take care of her. Come on, let's catch up! For old time's sake," Crane smiled. Tigress could tell that the bird was faking it. Li was insistent.

"I should really-"

"I'll deal with it," Tai-Lung growled at him, making him back off. "So... where's the ward, Master Mei-Ling?"

"Rr...right this way," Mei-Ling stumbled a bit with her words as the two went to the sick ward. She looked back at Li's face. His eyes sternly set on her, like a vicious owl hunting for a mouse. Crane spun Li around and guided him back to the arena. Tai-Lung carried Mei-Ling over to the sick ward and shut the door behind them. Mei-Ling hobbled off from his grasp. "Um... thank you."

"Don't mention it, sorry about hitting you. Is your foot swollen?"

"Please, I've had more life-threatening injuries," Mei-Ling smirked, but she winced a bit in pain. The cat finally sighed as she sat down on her bed. "So what do you want to know?" Tai-Lung quickly got the first-aid, bandaging her ankle tightly to immobilize it.

"What's the deal with Li?" Tai-Lung quietly whispered.

"He's blackmailing me so he can become the Grandmaster. He's been this way ever since Grandmaster Porin retired. At first, he seemed content with being my helper, but that was before I learned he was abusing his power."

"How so?"

"Making the students do things I didn't say, disciplining the students harshly, outright bribery for some of the acceptance. I didn't know about it until recently. When I threatened to expel him, he told me he would tell Porin about my... um..."

"We pressured Morin to tell us. He didn't know that you were 'accusing' him of being an abusive boyfriend," Tai-Lung replied, finishing up the wrappings around Mei-Ling's leg.

"There's more about that story," She muttered. "When I learned what Li knew, he wanted me to give the Grandmaster title to him. Instead of immediately giving it to him, I told him to wait so I could think about it more. Luckily for me, Li made the mistake of getting Morin into the school."

"Why was that a mistake?"

"Because Morin is the adopted son of Porin," Mei-Ling explained. "Originally, Li wanted Morin in so that after I abandoned my title, he would disgrace Grandmaster Porin's legacy through some other kind of accusation of his son."

"That way everyone would discredit him and only listen to Li. It's truly diabolical." Tai-Lung grumbled, "But wait, why does he want Morin gone now?"

"I... I purposely got into a relationship with Morin after I realized that he liked me. That way I could at least protect him," Mei-Ling sighed shamefully.

"How?"

"If Li comes out and says that Morin did something, I could discredit him, save Grandmaster Porin's legacy, and protect Morin. If Li were to come out and talk about my secret, Morin could easily get a word into Porin. Li wants to do this quietly because he doesn't want what he's been doing to get out into the open."

"And you can't call him out and deny it because?"

"I'm honest, I can't lie to my master like that. So that's why I can't just deny that it happened," Mei-Ling replied.

"Well, then, I think you should be truthful," Tai-Lung replied calmly.

"I can't lie and say that Morin abused me," Mei-Ling said.

"I said 'be truthful'," Tai-Lung said. Mei-Ling finally understood what he said. "Take it from me. A title isn't worth losing trust in someone. And trust is definitely something you should hold highly." Mei-Ling looked down at the ground, contemplating her options.

**Continued...**


	24. Unchecked Ambitions

Unchecked Ambitions

* * *

"Have you talk to the tiger yet?" Li asked.

"Not yet," Crane lied shrewdly. Tigress could tell he was upset about it. Crane's eyes glared at snow leopard as she had never seen before.

"Good, a waste of time trying to interview the guilty party," Li muttered.

"Why is the Grandmaster coming anyways? It seems kind of out of the blue," Crane said. Li thought about it and shrugged.

"I actually don't know, but it's important that Mei-Ling confesses to him about what his son is doing to her," Li replied.

"Maybe Tai-Lung will be able to convince her to tell the truth," Tigress replied as they saw the two coming out. Mei-Ling was hobbling on her left foot while Tai-Lung helped her up.

"I'll... I'll tell Grandmaster Porin the truth," Mei-Ling sighed. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."

"We all have to do hard things to get what we want, and right now, I want you to do the right thing for my sake," Li 'kindly' smiled. Mei-Ling glared at him but grinned to hide her true intentions.

The next day a grand procession was held for the former grandmaster. Porin walked onto his academy's grounds, taking in the familiar and non-familiar sights. "I forgot how intimidating Porin used to be," Crane commented as they all stood in a row. The kind old fox laid his eyes on Crane, Mei-Ling, and Li. Tigress, Tai-Lung, Morin, and Mantis were right behind them.

"Grandmaster Porin," they all bowed. Porin only smiled.

"Just Porin, for now, my former students. Master Mei-Ling, I see that you've done a fine job of the academy," Porin smiled. He noticed her worried and pensive face. "Is something wrong?"

"Master Porin, there..." Mei-Ling struggled. Suddenly, she felt a hand behind her gently rest in her hand. Tigress saw Tai-Lung gently grab her hand to encourage her. "There's something that we need to discuss in private."

"Of course," Porin replied. "It's good to see you here as well as Master Crane."

"Thank you, Master Porin." Crane respectfully bowed. When he saw Li, the fox's kind face seemed to dip for a moment.

"And Li, have you been doing all you can to help GRANDmaster Mei-Ling?" He said. Tai-Lung and Tigress couldn't help but notice a small suspicion in his voice. The small snow leopard was none the wiser.

"Of course, my master," Li replied with a small smile. For a moment, the fox didn't seem convinced as they went to the Grandmaster's old quarters. Mei-Ling held Morin back.

"Morin, I think it's best that you not come," Mei-Ling said.

"But-"

"It's alright, big guy," Li smiled. His grin irritating Mei-Ling more. "Everything will be fine," He lied to his face as the clueless tiger waited outside. Porin walked in, inhaling the air of his former office.

"Ah, and you've even kept the scent here. Very nice," Porin smiled, looking out the open window of his former office. "I always loved this view."

"Master Porin," Li muttered, a little annoyed by the fox's daydreaming. "We have an important matter to discuss." Porin looked at Li emotionlessly. "You're aware that your adopted son, Morin is dating Mei-Ling?"

"Yes, and has he been treating you well, Master Mei-Ling?" Porin asked her directly. Mei-Ling sighed, suddenly feeling Tai-Lung's hand on her shoulder.

"Master Porin... I have something I have to confess."

"What is it?" Porin asked.

"I... I cheated on my entrance exam into the academy!" Mei-Ling finally said. Li's eyes nearly popped out as his mouth formed a snarl. "I didn't tell you because I knew you would kick me out of the school. I'm sorry for deceiving you. I don't deserve the title you've given me." Li's ears perked a bit. She hadn't said anything about him yet. Porin looked at her with a carefully plain face. What was he thinking? Suddenly, he laughed.

"Is that all?"

"Master Porin?" Crane asked, confused.

"Master Mei-Ling, we knew that you cheated the exam a long time ago."

"WHAT!" the whole room exclaimed.

"And you allowed her in anyways!" Li roared in jealous anger. "You even made her THE grandmaster KNOWING she had done this! WHY!"

"Because it was how she cheated," Porin smirked. "We've been letting students from all over come into the exam if they could do one of the two things. Overcome the obstacle course like Crane did, or outthink the obstacle course as you did. You think I didn't notice those small seeds you scattered around, halting the machines. We knew. I knew that you were going to make a great grandmaster even after all of that. I decided to look beyond that and see who you truly are." Mei-Ling smiled at her master. Li was left speechless. Suddenly, the fox fiercely turned around to him. "And as for you," He sternly pointed.

"Me?" Li asked with a stutter.

"You've been spreading lies and rumors about my son and have been a disgrace to the grounds of this place!" Porin grunted. Li had been found out.

"We know because we _did_ interview Morin. He knew nothing about the issue and he was sincere," Crane added.

"Meanwhile, Mei-Ling told me exactly why you were doing this," Tai-Lung grumbled. "You wanted to tarnish Master Porin's reputation through his son and make Mei-Ling abandon the title so that you could run this school with no problems."

"You would have gotten away with it too. Crane was definitely too blinded at first to listen to reason," Mantis said bluntly, making the bird look away. "If it weren't for us meddling around, you would have definitely gotten away."

"Grrr," Li grabbed something from his pocket and threw it down to the ground. Smoke billowed everywhere. With one flap of his wings, Crane cleared the smoke and saw that Li had jumped through the window and fled on foot into the woods.

"Great, now we have no idea where he's going!" Mei-Ling grumbled.

"I know where he's going. Where he always went to when things didn't go his way," Crane muttered, looking at the grey mountain in the distance of the trees.

"We'll get him," Tai-Lung promised the bird.

"No, I'll get him," Crane stated, flying out the window to catch the snow leopard.

"CRANE!" Mei-Ling shouted.

"Don't be concerned, Master Mei-Ling," Porin assured. "Master Crane must do this by himself."

"How did you know that Li was lying?" Tigress asked the old fox.

"A mysterious duck told me that there were shady dealings going on around my campus. He confided in me that it was Li that caused all of this. But..." He paused, looking at the tiger, snow leopard, and mantis. "You and Master Crane weren't suppose to be here."

"Why?"

"The duck was worried that if you were here, things would turn for the worst. I just hope that he doesn't mean Crane's safety is at stake," Porin ominously replied.

* * *

The tall mountain shuddered under no one's gaze or blow. Not even the howling wind could topple it. Li panted as he finally reached his hideout place upon the mountain. He stumbled into a cave, panting as he sat down. "Hehe, I made it."

"You were always slower than me getting up this mountain," said a voice from the darkness of the cave. Li bolted up, seeing the bird walk out of the darkness. "To think your slow pace would come in handy." Crane mentioned. Li saw something in Crane that made him fearful. Normally, it was the other way around when Li was teasing Crane for something.

"Crane, I can explain."

"Then try," Crane interrupted the snow leopard. "Try and explain why you would betray your friends' trust, blackmail your Grandmaster, try to desecrate your old master's legacy, and then try to pretend as if we were still friends?!" Crane shouted as the howling wind started to echo in the cave.

"Like you wouldn't have done it also!" Li shouted back. Crane stopped in his advance towards the snow leopard. "When I learned first Mei-Ling had cheated, I thought I had to defend Grandmaster Porin's honor! I didn't want her to become Grandmaster, but... but her kindness was... alluring," Li shyly said.

"You... you loved her?" Crane said more than questioned.

"And I didn't want to kick her out. So I focused on just becoming Grandmaster after that. But when Porin put Mei-Ling instead of me. Me, who's always followed the books! Who didn't have to cheat the exam, just like you! He chose her instead of me! I couldn't take it anymore! Mei-Ling's reign was just weak! The students never pushed themselves. They were just...just..."

"Like me," Crane finished. "A warrior isn't judged by the outward appearance, Li. And if you were so fixated on what happened, why didn't you just leave! What didn't you just let Master Porin's honor fall. You wanted power, that's all there is to it!"

"YES! I did!" Li shouted. "I confess that I did! Do you know what it's like to be chosen second?! To put all of your hopes and dreams into something then see it all taken away and given to someone who doesn't deserve it!" Li cried out. Crane paused for a moment, an emotionless face stared at the snow leopard as he slowly approached him. Crane's face softened.

"I do." He said, "When the Dragon Warrior was chosen, I started questioning whether or not I was actually chosen for something worth wild. But I saw that that panda did things that I couldn't do. Look at what you have done just as being assistant of the Grandmaster? You've lied, cheated, accepted briberies. This isn't who you are! AND YOU KNOW IT!" Crane screamed at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, the realization hit Li hard.

"What... what have I done?" Li fearfully stuttered, looking at the ground, trembling.

"It's not too late, Li. We can smooth things over with Master Porin. I know he'll accept you back if you come back." Li's trembling stopped for a moment. He looked at the edge of the cliff and then he looked at Crane. He sighed as he straightened up.

"You're such a great friend, Crane. I'm sorry for betraying you," Li sighed as he walked towards Crane, resting his hand on his shoulder. "Tell Mei-Ling and Morin, I'm sorry for what I've done."

"What are yo-" Before Crane could say anything else, Li pulled a dagger out and tore a small gash into Crane's wing preventing him from flying. "AAGGRHH!" Crane stumbled to his knees as what happened next was almost too much for him to see.

Li immediately ran up to the edge of the cliff, gave Crane one last small smile, and then jumped off the edge. "NOOOOOOO!" Crane screamed.

Po was standing up in the kitchen when all of a sudden he felt extremely weak, nearly falling to the floor. Viper and Monkey helped him, "What's the matter?" Viper asked urgently.

"Crane," Po panted as if he had just encountered death at his door, "Crane."

Meanwhile, Tai-Lung suffered the same sudden blow, stumbling to the ground. "What's the matter?" Tigress asked.

"It's... it's Crane," Tai-Lung heavily stated, sitting down. "He's suffered a great loss," Tai-Lung practically whispered.

"Is he-"

"No, but Li is..." He couldn't go on. Mei-Ling clasped her hands over her mouth, starting to cry as Morin held her. Tigress and Mantis sat next to Tai-Lung, trying to calm the snow leopard's shivers.

Unchecked ambition destroys many.

**Continued...**


	25. Hell

Hell

* * *

Crane brought Li's mangled lifeless body back to the academy. He told the others what he said and what happened. A proper burial was held for him by all of the students of the academy. Crane felt as if his body was completely detached from the situation. A numbness one can't really describe in letters and words. The time had come for them to depart.  
Mei-Ling and Crane gave one last hug goodbye as they traveled back home. They had to stop for the night. Crane was sitting, huddling his scrawny legs into his chest. He remembered one time that Li commented that those legs would save us all. Crane never remembered him saying that until now. Death would do that. Bring back the faintest memories.

The bird looked at the moon. It's faint light seeming to be the only thing that could understand Crane's grief. He heard a small walking. Tigress, no doubt. What would she say? Crane knew she wouldn't say anything bad like, 'get over it.' Probably just, 'it will get easier over time' or 'just keep your eyes on-' His thinking was interrupted when Tigress sat down, silently rested her back against his. Not saying a word. She simply laid her hand on his bruised wing resting on the ground to his side. He could fly now, but the gash was still a painful reminder. Crane shakily sighed. Suddenly, Tigress turned her body around and hugged the bird from behind. Crane's eyes still focused on the moon. Tears started running down his face as he shook with every sharp inhale of breath. He coughed up spit, mucus, and wetted tears in his bitter exhales, trembling as he sobbed, letting out all the turmoil that was inside of him.

Then he felt something. Tears on his... back? But that would mean... Crane looked behind him, seeing the tiger's eyes watered. It took a lot for Tigress to cry. He guessed that seeing one of her friends so hurt would definitely do the job. Crane's voice was stuttered and clogged. He was trying to say something as he looked back at the moon. Tigress listened carefully, trying to hear every muttering that he was saying.

"The moon," He finally started. A voice so tired and pained that it's very presence brought and spoke of a heavy burden. "the moon is beautiful tonight."

"It is," Tigress simply agreed. The next morning, Crane's eyes tired eyes stared on at the pathway home. They grew more tired as if the very grief was starting to get too much for them. His eyes looked at Mantis, who's eyes were red as well. Had he been crying about this the whole time?

"Mantis?" Crane asked genuinely surprised. "Have you been... crying?" While Tigress crying is a shock that requires the whole world to know, a much less known wonder of the world was Mantis openly admitting to him crying.

"YEah, so?" Mantis grumbled. Crane couldn't help but smile at his friend as they finally reached the stairs of the Jade Palace. Viper and Monkey met them. Tigress was immediately worried.

"Where's Po?" Tigress asked. Viper sighed.

"He's been in his study all day, crying. Something happened yesterday that got him really upset," Viper replied.

"He was fine until all of a sudden he started mumbling Crane's name," Monkey said. Tigress immediately knew what happened. It was the same thing that happened with Tai-Lung. "What happened with you two?" Crane said nothing. He simply went to see Master Po. Mantis told the others what had happened.

Crane went into the panda's study, seeing the panda desolate, eyes reddened. Crane knew that if Po had felt his grief all the way from where he was, it must have been a great grief. Po shuffled up to his feet upon seeing the bird. Po silently hugged Crane tightly. Po's hugs were always so comforting, so relaxing. There was nothing like a good bear hug. Crane cried again, bitterly wetting the panda's fur. They stayed there for a while. The two in an air of silence for a while before Po opened his mouth. "You want to get something to eat?" Po asked with a weary but warm smile. Crane gave an exhausted but humorous laugh.

"Sure," Crane answered. As they walked to the kitchen, Crane thought about something. Po had been through a lot, loss, gain, you name it. How did he not crack under the pressure? "Po?"

"Hm?"

"How do you overcome all of this? This loss of-"

"I... I'm a writer so you're to have to reword what you just said," Po interrupted. Crane was confused. What did he say wrong?

"How do you overcome-"

"Wrong word."

"How do you... get over-"

"Closer," Po said.

"How do you get through-"

"Exactly," Po said, stopping him right there. "I get _through_ it. Because it feels like the grief and sadness is an overbearing place of agony, right?"

"Yess," Crane said very heavily. Po rested his hands on the bird's shoulders.

"I get through it. Don't worry about a particular _way_ of getting through it, because everyone's is different. Focus on _getting through_ it." Po said, going ahead of him a bit before stopping again. "As a famous person once said, 'If you're going through hell, keep going'," he said definitely. Crane slowly nodded, taking the panda's advice to heart.

Each day after that, Crane spent more time with the others. Tigress and Po spent the most time with him. The bird slowly started to regain his very ability to talk more. "Thank you for the breakfast, Po," Crane said in gratitude as he ate with the others. It had been about a month since the incident with Li. Surprisingly, it was quiet through out those four weeks. Mantis, who had been the quiet, suddenly got up from his plate of food and hopped over to Crane.

"Come with me," Mantis stated, hopping towards the exit.

"Huh?" Crane questioned.

"Just come with me." Crane decided to follow the bug, looking back at a confused Furious Five and Po. Crane and Mantis went to the peach tree.

"Mantis, what are we doing here?" Crane asked.

"I want you to look over the cliff," Mantis said. Crane's eyebrow rose as he stood at the edge of the cliff. "Now, I want you to scream."

"Um... okay," Crane said slowly. He let loose a low weak scream. "Like... that?"

"No," Mantis sighed. "Close your eyes." Crane sighed, closing his eyes. "Picture... picture that day when Li died. His face, hear his words. Remember all of the feelings... raw and indescribable." Mantis could see the bird start to pant a bit. "Now, scream, let all of those feelings out."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The crane shouted, yelling at the top of his lungs. He fell to his knees, panting harder and harder as he passed out in the grass for a while.

When he regained consciousness, Mantis was still there. It was like he had screamed out all of the energy out of his body. It was nightfall when he came to. Mantis looked back. "How do you feel now?" Mantis asked.

"So... so much better," Crane actually laughed a bit. It was like an enormous burden was immediately taken off of him. "How did you know that would work?" Mantis sighed heavily, looking up at the stars.

"When you're a bug, life is often very short. You lose a lot and holding it in isn't healthy. That's why I'm blunt and honest with my emotions and thoughts. It's my vulnerability where I get the most strength," Mantis explained. Crane nodded as he stumbled to his feet. "Come on, you sound hungry."

"Yeah, whoa!" Crane wobbled, completely famished. He hadn't been eating or sleeping much. "Yeah, I need an entire meal inside of me, now," Crane grumbled as he stumbled down the mountain. "Thank you, Mantis."

"You're welcome."

_If you're going through hell, keep going~ Winston Churchill_

**Continued...**


	26. Night over a bowl of Onions

Night over a Bowl of Onions

* * *

Crane was eating food almost as fast as Po. Tigress couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "I guess you're hungry?"

"Yes," Crane nearly choked trying to eat and breathe. "Wow, I never thought I would almost out-eat Po."

"Well, between Tai-Lung and him, we have to keep this place well packed," Viper smiled. Po rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to repeat the day that the food ran out," Mantis muttered glaring at Po.

"I said sorry. I was upset," Po defensively said.

"Sure," Monkey teased, eating his food as well. Po rolled his eyes, passing the rest of the food to Tigress.

"Thank you, Po," Tigress replied, taking a bit from the bowl. "It looks like we have more food than normal, though."

"Yeah, well, between Tai-Lung and Po we have to overstock all the time," Mantis said.

"Can we please stop making jabs at me?" Po said, tired of the teasing.

"Hehe, sorry Po." Viper smiled. "Have you heard from Master Shifu?"

"Yeah, he's supposed to be coming within a few more months. By that time, I hope that I could at least hide the fact that I've been taking orders from a person that he doesn't know," Po sighed.

"You haven't told him about Jai-Ling?"

"No," Po answered Tigress in a depressed tone. "And if I do, he would probably say that it was a foolish choice."

"Well, what's new?" Mantis smirked. Po was about to say something, but then stopped, realizing that the bug was right.

"I think I should go back and talk to Mei-Ling. It would be good to see her after what happened," Crane mentioned, looking at his food thoughtfully.

"I think it would be best for you to ask her to come here. That place will give you bad memories now," Mantis said compassionately and wisely. Crane smiled as he nodded.

Suddenly, something hit Po like a ton of bricks. He looked to his left, he looked to his right, he looked right in front of him. He dramatically clapped his hands together, grinned in a very exaggerated way as if he had just heard the funniest thing in his life. "What?" Tigress asked.

"Guys, where's Tai-Lung?" Po asked. Tigress looked around, so did Crane and Mantis. Suddenly, Crane laughed loudly as Tigress slapped her forehead.

"We forgot him at the academy," Tigress groaned.

"How do you forget someone for a whole month?" Monkey laughed his question out.

"There was a lot going on!" Mantis remarked.

"I can't believe we forgot him," Tigress said in utter disbelief.

"I can't believe YOU forgot him," Crane laughed. Consider their history with each other, Crane thought Tigress would watch Tai-Lung like a hawk.

"How do you forget someone for a whole month!" Monkey repeated.

"We were busy, okay?!" Mantis argued.

"Well, I'll send a message to Mei-Ling to come here... and to bring Tai-Lung," Po smiled, looking at Tigress's embarrassed look.

When Tai-Lung and Mei-Ling did get there, he was quick to pick up on what happened. "I can't believe you guys forgot me."

"Oh shut up," Piped up Mantis loudly, "You could have come back at any time!"

"Yeah, why didn't you?" Tigress smirked, noticing the close proximity to the mountain cat. Tai-Lung coughed, clearing his throat as he looked away from his foster sister.

"I thought it would be best to... comfort Master Mei-Ling," Tai-Lung answered carefully. Crane went up to Mei and hugged her.

"How are you doing?" Crane asked.

"Much better, you?"

"Same," Crane sighed. "How is Morin? I thought you would have brought him here." Mei-Ling sighed.

"I... Morin and I broke up," Mei-Ling replied. Crane's eyes widened. She explained the real reason why she dated him in the first place. "He was a nice guy, but... the way we got together wasn't right. Anyway, I stepped down as Grandmaster and he took my place. The academy is in good hands. I was... actually thinking of staying somewhere new."

"I invited Mei-Ling to stay in the Jade Palace, if you all are okay with it," Tai-Lung said politely.

"Of course, you're welcomed here for as long as you choose. Please make this your home," Po smiled. Mei-Ling bowed as she went with Crane to catch up more. "So you've made your move?"

"What?" Tai-Lung stuttered, shocking Tigress as well.

"You know, made your move?" Po repeated. His eyes rolled at the snow leopard's silence. "You're dating Mei-Ling."

"OH! Um... wait, how did you know?" Tai-Lung asked. Po rolled his eyes again.

"Come on, Tai. I'm not that blind. I can tell when someone's interested in someone," Po smirked crossing his arms confidently. Tai-Lung gave a doubtful look.

"But when it comes to you, you're completely clueless, right?" Tai-Lung said.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Po argued. The snow leopard was tempted to look at Tigress, but he knew that would give it away. He just threw his hands up and smiled.

"Nevermind. I'm glad to see you guys again," Tai-Lung replied. He stretched his limbs out as his stomach was heard growling. "I think I'm going to get some food."

"You're just in time for supper," Tigress smirked as they went to the kitchen. The whole team sat there, laughing and enjoying their time together.

"Soo wait," Mantis started laughing, "You **allowed** this big lug to cook for you! And you _didn't_ expect the academy to nearly burn down?" Tai-Lung grumbled under his breath as Mei-Ling smiled, lightly placing her hand on his.

"There is a reason why we don't allow Tai-Lung to cook," Po smirked.

"Thank you, everyone for your considerable faith in me," the snow leopard muttered. Tigress simply smiled as dinner started winding down. Everyone started to leave and go to bed.

"Night, Tai, Tigress, Po," Monkey yawned. Tai-Lung groaned a bit, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, I think I'm going to go to bed. Are you two going to be good with the dishes?" Tai-Lung asked.

"Yeah, I'll make sure to help Tigress," Po said. Tai-Lung simply got up and went to his room, expecting nothing more. Po turned to the tiger who was cleaning the dishes. It was late so they had candles to see in the growing darkness. "Um... Tigress?"

"Yes, Po?" She said, turning around from her work.

"I want to talk to you about something," Po nervously said with his hands behind his back.

"What is it?" She asked. Po revealed a certain scroll that was supposed to be in Tigress's room. The tiger froze in panic. "Whhh... where did you get that?" she stuttered the question out.

"I found it when I was helping Zeng clean out the rooms. This is the story about Mr. Bones and Mrs. Flower... the... edgy part," Po nervously muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "Tigress, I don't want you thinking less of me because I wrote this stupid-"

"No, no, no," Tigress interrupted. "It's a great story. I... I actually liked it."

"You did?" Po asked, completely surprised. The panda walked closer. "Why?"

"Uh... well, it was... well written and um..."

"Yeah, but it's the lemon part of that story."

"Lemon?" Tigress questioned.

"Sexual," Po said bluntly, "I didn't think you would like that... I thought it would be disgusting to you."

"Why?" Tigress asked out of curiosity.

"Well, I mean I play as Mr. Bones so that mental image could be very bad," Po nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. Tigress stood there for a while in silence before saying anything.

"I... I don't mind," Tigress struggled to say. Po's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"I'm... actually a little... um... stimulated by it," Tigress said, her cheeks reddening. Why did she say that? She should have just left it at 'I don't mind'. By great heavens this was embarrassing. Po's head cocked to the left side.

"Stimulated?" Po repeated. "You know... if you're trying to say 'aroused' it's okay."

"Yes, I was... aroused," Tigress replied shakily.

"By... Mr. Bones... or me?" Po asked the determining question. Tigress swallowed thickly as she stared at Po.

"The thought of you as Mr. Bones arouses me... and... it's because I... kind of... ... like you, Po." The tension in the air was thick.

"You mean love me," Po edited.

"...yes," She answered. Po was at a loss for words. His face was emotionless as he stood closer to her.

"So... how did you like the story?" Po asked. Tigress was a bit confused. Why the transition?

"Well, it was a very graphic story. You do have a talent for-" She paused as Po kissed her lips and then quickly pulled away. Tigress blinked several times before continuing. "Um... you have a great talent for... describing the feelings-" Po kissed her again, a bit longer this time before pulling away. "Mm, and the emotions of the people... I particular like the surprising mix of-" Tigress shut her eyes as Po kissed her again. "The mix of... tenderness and... roughness between the characters."

"Uh huh," Po mumbled, kissing her longer and more passionately before pulling away.

"Po, what are you doing?" Tigress asked breathlessly, wondering what his angle was.

"Just risking my neck out as usual," Po quipped with a small smirk before kissing her longer, slowly backing away. Tigress bit her lip down.

"Well, it's working," She quickly said in an excited growl before latching her hands and arms around his neck and kissing him back. Po reciprocated with the same level of passion as her.

"You want to finish this in my room?" Po smirked.

"A little fast, aren't we?" Tigress smirked back.

"With the kind of lives we have, tomorrow isn't promised. Besides, I've been through so much with you, I don't want you leaving me now," He said tenderly kissing her forehead, making the tiger chuff happily. Then she remembered a certain snow leopard. Tigress quickly spotted a bowl of onions.

"Let's take the onions with us." Tigress quickly said. Po's entire body paused... hard.

"What?" He slowly said.

"Just trust me," Tigress said, pulling Po to his room, which wasn't in the barracks with the others, and shut the door. "Now, it's just you and me." She smiled kissing him.

"Forever and always," Po smiled back.

**Continued...**


	27. Vulnerable

Vulnerable

* * *

Tai-Lung yawned as he woke up, slowly and begrudgingly walking out of his room and into the kitchen. He stopped when he realized that Tigress's door was open. "Eh, probably just training," Tai-Lung muttered sleepily, getting some food and eating. After breakfast, he went to the Training Hall but didn't find Tigress. "Hmm," Tai-Lung mumbled as he decided to go to Po to find out where she was. As he was about to knock on the door, Tigress hastily came out of the room. "Um...hel-"

"Hello Tai-Lung," She quickly said, straightening out any wrinkles in her vest, "I was just making sure that Po was okay and he's still sleeping by the way do you smell anything," She quickly asked without breathing.

"What?" Tai-Lung muttered, still trying to piece together what was going on... and what she was saying.

"Do you smell anything?"

"I smell... UGH! Onions," Tai-Lung held his nose at the strong scent. "Ugh, why was Po eating onions?"

"Don't know. He had a bowl of them there when I went in well I have to go and train Tai-Lung see you," She said without any kind of breath breaks in between. Tai-Lung decided that it was best just to go back to bed and wait for his brain to catch up with whatever was happening.

Later on in the day, Tai-Lung was eating lunch when Po came in. "Hey, how are you?"

"I'm good. Are you okay? You seem... relaxed?" Tai-Lung noted.

"Hehe, I guess so. I... went out last night and I was tired," Po chuckled nervously.

"And the onions in your room?"

"How did you know about that?" Po asked curiously.

"I was by your room and Tigress came out of it. She said you were sleeping. She smelt like onions and said you had a bowl of onions there."

"Oh, well, yeah I guess I was sleep-eating," Po nervously chuckled. "Um... Tai-Lung, how sensitive is your nose?"

"Oh well, I can smell spices, scents, traces of... well... intimacy," Tai-Lung struggled. "Of course with the number of onions you had in your room, I couldn't smell anything else."

"Oh... OOHHHHH!" Po suddenly exclaimed. "That's why she had the... Um... I'm going to go to the shop. BYE!" Po said, nearly stumbling into Mei-Ling.

"What's with Po?" Mei asked.

"I don't know anymore," Tai-Lung sighed in bitter confusion, holding his head in complete and utter defeat. Po raced down to the shop where he met his panda dad.

"Dad?"

"Son, your tiger friend was just here. She ran into your room," Li-Shan replied, guiding him to the shop. Po's eyes widened as he went to his room alone. When he went there, no one was there. Suddenly, a pair of hands covered his eyesight.

"Guess," said a smirking voice. Po laughed as he turned around.

"This is a nice side of you," Po smiled, about to kiss her, but she stopped him, placing her hand on his lips.

"Did Tai-Lung ask about you?" Tigress asked worriedly. Po rolled his eyes with a smirk, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Yes, but he was more confused than worried. Smart move with the onions," Po smirked.

"You knew?"

"Tai-Lung explained his heightened nose sense. It made sense when I put it together. You're such a clever tiger," Po smirked. Tigress smirked back. "But it's best that we keep it a secret until I can ask Master Shifu for his blessing."

"You're the Dragon Warrior," Tigress pointed out. "If anything he should ask for your blessing." Po rolled his eyes.

"It's the proper thing to do," Po said. "Besides, we both agree that we've known each other for a while." Tigress frowned a bit, walking away from him. Not far, just a couple of steps.

"Time means nothing, Po. It's how much experience you have in that time. And how much of the other's past that you know," Tigress replied, rubbing her shoulders. The tiger felt the panda's warm hug from behind.

"Tigress, I never meant for my past to frighten you or hurt you," Po whispered into her ear.

"Why not tell us?"

"I never thought it would come up or be important," Po replied. Tigress turned around in Po's arms, looking at him in slight anger.

"Everything about you is important to me, and to us, Po," Tigress sternly declared. The panda smiled, chuckling a bit.

"Sorry," Po sighed. "But you haven't told me everything either."

"Like what?"

"Past boyfriends, past feelings, traumas, thoughts about your... upbringing. There's a lot I wonder about you, Tigress," Po confessed. Tigress rose her eyebrow in suspicion.

"Enough to put on paper?" Po was confused until he finally understood.

"I would never write a story about your private struggles without your permission. Besides, I've grown out of writing stories." This seemed to saddened Tigress.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I did it when I was a kid... I mean, kind of... like an older-ish kid... more like teen-ish I guess," Po said, confused about his own age at the time. Tigress was still curious.

"Would you ever write again?" Tigress asked.

"It depends on... wait, why are you asking?" Po finally questioned. Tigress swallowed thickly and took the risk.

"I... I like how you write... and... it's admittedly a guilty pleasure of mine to read your more... erotic stories," Tigress said shyly. Po decided to tease her.

"Oh... so if I were to make another Mr. Bones story... would you like me to edit it so you could be Mrs. Flower?" Po smirked. Tigress's eyes shot open as her face reddened. She accidentally stepped on his foot. "OOWW! Tigress!"

"Sorry, I didn't expect you to say something like that," Tigress apologized. "But... it's okay with me," Tigress nervously said, trying desperately to get her composure under control. Po seemed to sense this.

"Listen, Tigress. You don't have to be strong for me. I know you're strong. So don't be afraid to show your vulnerable side to me," Po said quite openly. Tigress sighed, stepping out of his arms.

"It's hard," She confessed.

"But possible. I don't expect you to do it all at once, but you can do it. Trust me when I say your vulnerability is where you get your strength," Po said. Tigress turned to Po with a small smile.

"You should know that more than anyone," Tigress softly chuckled a bit.

"Why?"

"Po, you've confessed and explained things to me that I would have taken to the grave with me. You admitted to me when Kai was terrorizing the pandas that you were having a complete war inside of you figuring out who you were. I would have never done that. But," She paused, gazing at him. "It's hard for me. I've held a strong composure most of my life. I don't know what being vulnerable looks like."

"Yes, you do. You're doing it right now," Po explained. "Being vulnerable means you can explain what's going on in your head. You just managed to tell me that about something most people would have just said, 'yeah, I'm vulnerable!' Being vulnerable was confessing to Tai-Lung why you hated him." Tigress's ears perked up. "He told a while afterward."

"Of course," Tigress grumbled under her breath.

"But that was because he was incredibly fascinated by your strength. Vulnerability isn't a weakness, it's a strength because once you've revealed it, no one can use it against you."

"Because everyone knows it," Tigress guessed. Po nodded. "I guess you're right."

"And thank you for... well... taking a risk in loving me," Po nervously chuckled. Tigress smirked, walking up to him and hugging him.

"It's not much of a risk," Tigress replied. Po was a bit surprised.

"I thought you didn't like hugs?" Po asked.

"Your hugs are different," Tigress sighed quite happily. The two walked down to the shop where Crane and Tai-Lung were waiting. Crane seemed serious but confused, a weird combination.

"What's the matter?" Po asked, although, by the sight of the scroll in Crane's wings, Po had an idea what it was.

"Jai-Ling wants us to meet the Sharp Claws," Crane said. Po's body jerked back a bit at the sentence.

"Who are the Sharp Claws?" Tigress asked.

"They're part of the Knife Ring," Po explained. "But I don't understand why Jai-Ling wants us to meet them." He said looking at Crane. The bird just shrugged.

"It just says that they want to meet the Dagger and the Wingblade," Crane replied. Po thought about it.

"Are there any crazy ex-girlfriends there that we have to worry about, Po?" Tai-Lung asked tentatively.

"Not on my end," Po said. He looked at Crane.

"You and I have never been there before! How would I know?" Crane asked. Po thought about it for a moment.

"There's probably something going on. Maybe it's with Lu-Chang," Po proposed. He heard a small growl from Tigress before speaking again. "Okay, who's going with us?"

"You, me, the T's, and Mei-Ling," Crane said.

"The T's?" Tai-Lung asked.

"Yeah, Tai-Lung and Tigress," Crane explained, "It saves time." Tigress rolled her eyes.

"You might as well get going," Mr. Ping suddenly said. They had forgotten they were in the goose's shop discussing this. "Those kittens tend to get a little... aggressive and being tardy isn't the best way to make friends with them."

"Kittens?"

"Yeah, the Sharp Claws mostly consists of felines," Crane explained. Then Po's eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"OOoooohh, this is going to be bad," Po ominously said. Before they could ask, he said, "Let's go."

**Continued...**


	28. The Tigers' Grim

The Tigers Grim

* * *

"Po, you've been silent for almost half a mile. What's wrong?" Tai-Lung asked. Po didn't bother looking at Tigress because she was wondering the same thing.

"Think about it. Jai-Ling knows more about us than we do, right?" Po started.

"I guess," Tai-Lung muttered, remembering his former girlfriend.

"And each time it's been about something in the past, right?"

"Okay," Crane agreed.

"And we just said that most of the Sharp Claws are felines," Po said.

"Just get to the point!" Mei-Ling grumbled, tired of trying to follow the dialogue. The panda sighed.

"It's possible," He paused, "that Jai-Ling wants us to meet Tigress's parents." The others stumbled back a bit in shock.

"Wait, but we've never seen or heard anything from the Sharp Claws about a missing baby!" Crane argued in bewilderment.

"Think about it. I joined the Knife Ring when I was 15, you joined around your 20s. We were all babies when Tigress was dropped off at the orphanage and Tai-Lung wouldn't have paid attention to something like that. So it's not like we would have really known what was happening in the Sharp Claw lineage. My goose dad has kept a tight lip about any of the other gangs," Po replied.

"Or he doesn't know," Tai-Lung muttered. He looked at Tigress, who was still speechless. "What are you thinking right now, Tigress?"

"I... I don't know," Tigress said slowly, "I... I do want to know why I was left at the orphanage, but... I'm also... afraid," Tigress confessed. Po gently rested his hand on her shoulder, smiling.

"It's quite possible that they gave you up because of a civil war in the gang," Crane muttered.

"Do those civil wars happen often?" Tai-Lung asked.

"With the kittens, yes," Crane muttered in a depressed manner.

"Why?"

"Pride," Po and Crane said simultaneously. Tai-Lung rolled his eyes.

"It can't just be that," Mei-Ling remarked.

"There's always been stories about infighting with the Sharp Claws. That's why no one in the Ring goes there," Po said almost exhaustively. Tai-Lung spotted the sun's angle. About an hour or so and it would be dark.

"Let's get some rest," He suggested as they stopped to camp.

Later on, Tigress was sitting on the floor, looking into the fire pensively as Po came behind her and covered her with a small blanket. She smiled briefly before staring back into the fire. "Tigress, you shouldn't be so worried. If anything, it could very well be my parents that are there," Tai-Lung suggested.

"It's unlikely," Crane replied practically, earning an elbow to the rib from Mei-Ling. "What? I'm just saying."

"He's right, though," Po agreed, "Your parents would be far too old to be an issue," Tai-Lung growled at the panda for shooting his idea down. He was just trying to comfort Tigress.

"It's alright, Spots," Tigress humorously said with a small smirk. "I think I'll be able to handle what's coming."

"You sure?" Tai-Lung asked. Tigress nodded.

"Spots," Mei repeated, making the snow leopard flinch, "That's definitely becoming your new nickname."

"Grr," Tai-Lung huffed.

"Well, I'm glad you think you can deal with it. That makes one of us," Po sighed, thrusting his hands to the face and dragging them down in a worried tone.

"Why are you worried?" Tai-Lung asked. Tigress was confused as well.

"Oh... I just have to explain to the possible 'leaders' of the Sharp Claws that I'm 'friends' with their daughter!" Po exclaimed. Tai, Mei, and Crane were confused, but Tigress's face fell in paleness when she realized what he _truly_ meant.

"I don't think they would have a problem with it. I mean, you're the Dragon Warrior AND Dagger! I think they would be more than honored for you to be... wait, there's something else going on," Crane said, picking up that Po was leaving out something. Po looked at Tigress through his hands. She sighed as she spoke.

"They were going to figure out eventually. Po and I are... intimate and dating each other." Crane fell to the ground off the stump he was sitting on. Tai-Lung's mouth dropped as his eyes widened. Mei-Ling, not knowing the two for long, didn't seem that worried.

"Wait, wait, wait!" the normally level-minded bird shot up, getting back on the stump, "When did this happen?"

"Um... just... yesterday?" Po nervously said. Suddenly, Tai-Lung's eyes widened even more.

"The onions," He looked at Tigress with a sinister smirk. "You sneaky little kitten. That's why you used the onions." Tigress gave a small smirk, proud that she got past Tai-Lung's peering nose. Admittedly, the snow leopard was both impressed and proud of his foster sister.

"What onions?" Mei-Ling asked.

"It's a long story," Po sighed, waving it away. "So, that's why I'm worried."

"Okay, well it's possible that Tigress's parents AREN'T the leaders of the Sharp Claw," Crane proposed. Po looked at Crane like he was stupid.

"Crane."

"Hey, I'm trying to be positive," Crane muttered.

"If Jai-Ling wants us to meet the leaders, then it's very possible that Tigress's parents are there," Tai-Lung said, thinking about all of the missions that Jai-Ling had placed them on.

"And having the leader of Sharp Claws on your tail because he's with your daughter is going to be a problem," Po added.

"Okay, so how do we delicately tell the leaders of the Sharp Claw gang that Po's wiener as been rummaging their daughter's innards?" Crane said very bluntly.

"CRANE!?" They all exclaimed.

"What, I'm being practical. There are no pleasing you people," Crane griped. Tigress pinched the top of her nose in ultimate embarrassment.

"We'll figure out something. Right now, we'll sleep on it," Tai-Lung said. "And you two are sleeping in different tents, got it!"

"Oh, sure! Like you and Mei-Ling are going to be?" Po snidely said.

"Okay, each one to their own tents and that's it," Crane declared.

"Yes dad," Po and Tai-Lung muttered as they went to bed. The bird sighed.

"You have some interesting gentlemen ladies," Crane sighed, making the two laughed.

* * *

The leaders of the Sharp Claws actually lived in a weird place. It was high in the mountains, just barely grazing the ice line of the mountain. The Sharp Claws didn't have an actual city of residence (No gang did), but they did live in the same area generally. As they climbed one of the mountains, Po looked back and sighed. "This view is wonderful," Po sighed.

"Don't sound like your accepting death now," Tai-Lung cautioned him, noticing the tone. "If anything happens, we'll make sure that you're protected."

"The leaders tend to be more skilled. I just hope that-"

"Stop talking about it," Crane confronted him. "We'll get through this." Tigress looked at a private secluded two-story wooden house. She paused, not going an inch further before Po rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Familiar?" He guessed. Tigress nodded.

"Fearfully so," Tigress spoke up. She swallowed hard before Tai-Lung came up to her right side.

"You're not alone," he said. Po nodded. Tigress breathed in as they neared the house. Soon, they found two large rhino guards in front of the front door. The team's spirits were a bit lifted up at the sight. Maybe it wasn't Tigress's parents. Maybe it was just rhinos.

"Halt, who comes to see the fearsome tigers of the Sharp Claws!" Bellowed one of the guards.

"Dang it," Po muttered as the whole team became dejected. He cleared his throat. "Um... it is I, the Dragon Warrior, also known as Dagger along the Knife. I am here with Master Crane, also known as Wingblade." The guards were shocked, bowing their heads in respect.

"You honor us with your presence, Master Dagger and Wingblade," The guards said. Crane huffed as Po smiled at him.

"Still upset about the master thing?" Po cheekily replied. Crane rolled his eyes as the guards opened the house. "Okay... don't be nervous-"

"Panda, you're the last person to say that and actually do it," Tai-Lung said bluntly. As they entered, the house was quite comfy. A fireplace in the corner and a warm dark wooden table immediately in front of them decorated the quaint place. Behind the table was a large picturesque silk panel covering what Po could only assume was the kitchen from the direction of the smell of food. The shadows from the kitchen showed two feline-like people. The whole team was nervous about announcing themselves. They stood in stillness before the rhino guard came in.

"Master Ares and Master Lu-Fang!"

"No, no, no, no!" The team quickly tried to hush him up.

"The honorable Dragon Warrior and Master Crane come to visit you and also the legendary Dagger and Wingblade with friends." Then the rhino left. The two shadows came around the panel. Po sighed in relief when he saw them. Two older tigers, the male not much larger than Tigress herself and the female one was shorter. They both bowed. The male was dressed in a red garment that wrapped around his left shoulder. He was bulky in the stomach, though Po didn't dare doubt that muscles were there. The female was shorter, quite beautiful for her age, having similar features that Tigress had.

"It's an honor to have you, masters," They said. Po and the others bowed as well.

"We came on your request, Master Ares and Master Lu-Fang?" Po asked.

"Oh yes, we called you here because we desperately need your help," The female tiger said. Po guessed she was Ares. "Lu-Fang and I had to make a difficult choice when we were younger. We were hoping that you could help us find our daughter." This surprised the group.

"The duck... um... Jai-Ling said that you could help us find her," Lu-Fang spoke up. "We placed her in one of those orphanages in the Bao Providence." _The Bao-Goo Orphanage_, the team thought. "But when the civil war in our gang stopped, we tried to find her there. We knew it was a lost cause since no one would dare pass up on adopting such a wonderful child, but... we went back to the orphanage and they said that the only people that would know where she was would be the old caretaker and she had died. But Jai-Ling said that you would be able to help!"

Panic and hope. That's why they couldn't see that Tigress was right there in front of them. Tigress was about to speak up, but Po stopped her.

"What does she look like?" Po asked. It could very well be a coincidence. Besides, the Bao Providence was quite large and was abound to have another orphanage in the region.

"She... she would probably be Lu-Fang's height, a bit slimmer I imagine."

"What was her name?" Po asked, "She could have another one."

"We... we didn't actually name her yet." Ares sadly sighed.

"Any kind of birthmarks. Like a... a random black spot on the right side of her bottom?" Po asked. The two tigers' eyes lit up.

"YES! How did you know?!"

"Yes, Po, how did you know that specific fact?" Crane smirked. Po could feel the heat from Tigress's eyes burning into his soul.

"Um... Master Ares and Master Lu-Fang," Po said formally, stepping aside. "Meet Master Tigress... your daughter," Po said.

**Continued...**


	29. Reunion

Reunion.

* * *

The two tigers stood in disbelief. "It... It can't be," Ares softly stuttered. She slowly walked up to Tigress. The Kung Fu master stood rigid as the tiger's caring hand gently caressed her face. "It... It is you," Ares breathed out, not believing the words that were coming out of her own mouth. Tigress felt at ease with the female tiger. She hadn't felt this kind of ease since her faintest memories of loving people caring for her. The touch was so familiar like it was supposed to be there. It was them. Tigress's eyes began to water as Lu-Fang walked up to her, teary-eyed as well. The striped mass hugged each other. Tigress slowly cried tears of joy and peace. Po smiled at the sight and then he heard a sniff behind him. He turned and saw Tai-Lung shedding a tear.

"Tai, are you... crying?"

"No," Tai-Lung grumbled, rubbing his eyes, "Elevation is just making my eyes watery." Though they were high up in the mountains, Po doubted that was the case.

"This time we won't ever leave you," Lu-Fang promised to Tigress. Po looked a bit concerned. They would have to leave and go back sometime. Would they really refuse to let go of Tigress... with him? The panda shook his head when Ares announced that they should eat.

The team was eating together with Lu-Fang and Ares. Ares and Lu-Fang sat on either side of Tigress. Ares got up several times to get food out, but Po would always prevent her from doing so, saying that he would gladly do it. "Thank you so much, Master Dagger," Ares smiled. The master part seemed to always irk Crane, making him roll his eyes.

"I don't understand the whole Master Dagger," Mei-Ling asked the bird.

"Po's taught other people in the Ring, I haven't because I was fairly new," Crane argued.

"But you're just as good," Tai-Lung guessed. Crane huffed but Po smiled as he rested his hand on Crane.

"Don't worry, Crane. You're still a legend. And Mrs. Ares, just Po will be fine."

"I'm so amazed at you, my Lily," Lu-Fang said, calling Tigress one of the names they had thought of when she was born. "I was afraid that you would grow up to be a menace to society outside of the feline world. I'm so glad you didn't." He sighed, hugging her again, sniffling a bit.

"I had a good... ish foster father," Tigress smiled, looking at her brother who simply gave a small laugh.

"So you gave Tigress to the orphanage because of a civil war?"

"One of many," Lu-Fang grumbled. "Tigress probably would have been... 19 by the time we finally exited the Ring." Po and Crane spat out their drinks.

"YOU WHAT!?"

"The Sharp Claws are no longer a part of the Knife Ring," The male tiger repeated.

"Do the other gangs know that?!" Po impatiently asked.

"Yes, though I'm not surprised that you don't know," Lu-Fang said casually. Po squinted his eyes.

"Why?"

"You're the Dragon Warrior. You haven't really been apart of the Ring for a while," Lu-Fang laughed.

"Well excuse me for having _two_ identities," Po grumbled, sitting back down in his seat.

"Why pull out of the gang?" Crane asked, gently sitting down.

"Because it was being in the Ring that caused the whole civil wars in the first place," Ares sighed. "We had to fight constantly get and KEEP our position. Multiple betrayals, backstabbers, you name it. It was complete chaos."

"Ha," Po laughed in an exhaustive yet reflective manner. "It seems like my entire life has been in chaos."

"But if there's no leadership or power TO get, then there are no ambitious people to try to fight for the title of being the leader," Lu-Fang replied. Crane threw his head back in frustration.

"So... well-trained assassin level felines are running loose around China?"

"Yes, but most of them have gone into OTHER places, so they won't want to interact with each other. Felines tend to be territorial," Ares replied.

"That I know," Po muttered under his breath. "Well, at the very least, there's peace within the Knife Ring once and for all." Po and Crane looked at each other with a nod and drank up. Ares looked at her husband with a smile, gesturing her head towards the panda. Lu-Fang gave a look of realization as he winked at her.

"So... Master Po, how long have you been intimate with my daughter?"

"PFFSFSSSSS!" Po, Crane, and Tai-Lung spat up their drink. Tigress turned pale.

"III... III Uhh…. what are you talking about?" Po stuttered nervously. The two tigers looked at each other in confusion.

"You two are dating, aren't you?" Lu-Fang's confusion turned serious as he peered at the panda. "You aren't just fooling around with-"

"No, no, no, no!" Po spluttered. Tai-Lung cleared his throat.

"Um... Master Ares and Master Lu-Fang, you must apologize for our reaction. We... didn't think you would know. But to be clear, yes, Po and Tigress have been... urh… intimate and are dating."

"That's wonderful," Ares smiled warmly. Po felt a bit at ease with the tigress's smile.

"Well, thank you," Po nervously smiled.

"And you'll do well to make sure that our daughter is taken care of," She said with a smile that suddenly turned sinister and dark, like the burning sun burrowing into Po's soul, "Right?"

"Yes ma'am," Po squeaked in horror. _So that's where Tigress gets it from_, the panda thought to himself.

"Um... if I may be bold-"

"And stupid," Po grunted at the smirking bird.

"As to ask how did you know they were intimate?" Crane asked. Lu-Fang seemed to get redder in the face while Ares smirked at her husband.

"Let's just say we've seen this kind of thing play out before," Ares mischievously said. Lu-Fang coughed to clear his throat. "But we knew when you guys walked in. Tigress and Master Po shared a very similar scent." Then her face quirked into a confused look. "And... something else."

"What?" Mei-Ling asked.

"Well, both of their scents are on each other, but with something else. It... smells like... Onions?" Crane, Tai-Lung, and Mei-Ling burst out in laughter while Po blushed bright red and Tigress hid her face with her hands. Tigress growled at Tai's smirk.

"Hehe, I still win this one, Kitten," He smugly replied. Tigress grumbled. "But we hope that you're not offended by it."

"Why would we? If anything we should ask for the Dragon Warrior's blessing," Lu-Fang smiled. "I hope that you won't mind us residing with you."

"I'm sorry what?" Po shook his head awake.

"We don't want to be too far from Tigress, but we knew that where she stayed is her home. So, we decided to move with you," Ares smiled, resting her hand on her daughter's hand.

"The Valley of Peace is... an interesting place to reside, though," Po explained.

"It's more of a place of chaos," Tai-Lung muttered under his breath.

"If it means that we're close to our Tigress, it's perfectly fine," Lu-Fang smiled. Tigress gave a gentle smile to her father as she smiled at Po.

"Well, I think the village will be more peaceful with three masters of the blade there," Crane explained plainly, noticing Mei-Ling nodding her head onto Tai-Lung's in sleepiness. "But I think we'll start to move you guys in the morning. *Yawn* I'm pretty tired."

"Why don't we all get some rest," Tai-Lung proposed.

"Of course," Po smiled getting up, but Ares stood in his pathway to Tigress.

"You stay in your own bed, mister," Ares sternly said.

"Hehe, sorry," Po nervously grinned, darting to his own bed. Ares smiled at the panda as Tigress walked over to her mother.

"I hope he doesn't offend you," Tigress cautiously said.

"Oh, Tigress. He's more like your father than you think," Ares smirked as the two tigers retired to bed. Mei-Ling and Tai-Lung went to sleep as well. Tigress was about to sleep in her room. All of it was so familiar. Right down to the very wood. As the moon started to cast its light onto the house, Tigress went over and counted all the people in the house. A normal routine of hers. Mei, Tai, Po, Ares, Lu-Fang were all accounted for. But Crane wasn't in his room. Tigress suddenly heard a tapping on the roof. She went out the door, climbed the roof, and saw Crane looking at the full moon. He sighed sadly.

"Are you okay?"

"Tigress!" Crane exclaimed, clutching his chest. "Don't scare me like that."

"Crane, are you okay?" She repeated her question.

"I'm fine. Just getting some air," Crane replied. Tigress glared at the bird, who she knew he was lying. Crane sighed in defeat. "Just... feeling lonely... in the... relationship way. It's hard to not notice you're the only one not in one here. It happens from time to time."

"You don't have to do it alone, though," Tigress mentioned.

"I know, but it seems just... petty," Crane muttered.

"Well," Tigress said, sitting down with him, "I don't think it's petty."

"How?"

"It's natural for you to want a relationship. Like with me, I didn't know I wanted a relationship with Po until... well-"

"Until you read his spicy scrolls?" Crane smirked, earning a growl from the tiger. "Hehe, continue."

"The point is that you shouldn't focus on your loneliness. Rather, just enjoy the friendships you have now. I know it's not the same, but-" Tigress stopped short when Crane wrapped his wings around her in a hug.

"It's perfect enough," Crane smiled. Tigress hugged back, smiling.

"But if you ever tease me about those scrolls or if ANY of this trip gets to the others," Tigress said, slowly and creepily scratching her claws against his wings. "You're going to be flying with a limp for a while."

"Okay," Crane nervously said.

**Continued...**


	30. Strange Labs

Strange Birds

* * *

Crane was flying in the sky, looking at the trail ahead. The felines and Po were traveling by foot with their small wagon of possessions. "Are you sure we didn't forget anything?" Po asked. Ares smiled.

"Of course not. We didn't have that many happy memories there, Master Dagger."

"Please, just Po will do. I don't think Wingblade likes it very much that he doesn't have the master title," Po whispered to the female tiger. Suddenly, an apple hit his head. "Hey!"

"Oops, sorry," Crane apologized, though his snickering didn't convince Po. The rocky mountainous pathway was surrounded by fog, making it dangerous to travel. Although the fog started to lift, the same wasn't for Crane. He began to get lost in the fog.

"Crane? Are you okay up there?" Tai-Lung asked.

"I'm fine. I think I'll fly ahead to see a bit better," Crane shouted from the dense fog.

Suddenly, "OWWW!" Po's eyebrow rose as he looked up.

"That sounds like a 'female' Crane," Po mentioned. Tigress looked up. They couldn't see the bird but they could hear the voices.

"Dah! What did I hit? Something... soft?" Crane grumbled. He still couldn't see the person he hit in the dense fog.

"You ran into me! Don't you have eyes, bird!" Said a rude feminine voice.

"Well, excuse me, but apparently you can't see the fog!" Crane grouched at the voice. The land animals were looking up at the clouds hearing the argument.

"I am on important business! So get out of my way, loser," She grumbled. A small puff of cloud exited Crane's nostrils in his huff.

"And what business is so great that you couldn't watch where you were going," Crane argued.

"I have to find the Dragon Warrior!" The female bird said.

"Well," Po called, breaking up the two's fight, "If you want to talk with him, he's down here," Crane grumbled, flying down to see the fussy annoyance that crashed into him. He touched down and saw a beautiful female crane in front of him. It definitely wasn't what Crane expected, but her disgusted look made him forget that. The female crane seemed surprised by the sight of Crane, but she shook her head. Her clothing was ragged, dusty, and old-looking, and she wore a small belt around her waist. She bowed in front of the group.

"Dragon Warrior," said the female crane. "I am Ai. I've been sent on an important message to you from a friend of yours."

"Lu-Chang?" Tai, Tigress, Crane, and Po all guessed.

"Ye...Yes, how did you know?" Ai asked, startled.

"Lucky guess," Po grumbled. "What is it?"

"She's been captured!" Ai exclaimed.

"WHAT!?" They all exclaimed.

"We were working together to put a stop to this gang called the Kuns and-"

"THE Kuns?" Lu-Fang clarified, his eyes narrowing in disbelief. "What were you thinking?"

"Who are the Kuns?" Tigress asked her father.

"They're one of the rival gangs against the Knife Ring. Of course, they've never taken captives before," Lu-Fang said confused.

"Word about my identity must have gotten out," Po mumbled worriedly.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Bones," Tai-Lung shivered. "Let's try not to resurrect him," Then Tai-Lung got a smug smile on his face as he slung his arm around Tigress's shoulders. "Unless someone is willing to play Mrs. Flowers." Tigress punched Tai-Lung in the stomach so hard that he almost coughed up blood. "Okay, I deserve that. UGH! I think I'm going to throw up."

"Guys focus!" Crane called their attention. "Where is Lu-Chang?" Ai's eyebrow rose suspiciously at the bird.

"And why should I tell you, lackey?" Ai muttered.

"Why you-"

"This is Master Crane, Ai," Po calmly said, separating the two. "He's part of-"

"I don't care who he's part of," Ai interrupted, "I need the Dragon Warrior!"

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you," Crane grumbled back.

"I am the Dragon Warrior and the friend that she probably mentioned," Po said almost pompously.

"She never mentioned anything about a panda," Ai said, deflating Po's ego.

"Oh," He sighed dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, we seem to be missing the point of a friend in danger," Tai-Lung replied.

"What about Masters Lu-fang and Ares?" Crane asked.

"We will gladly take their belongings to the Jade Palace," Said the rhino guards accompanying them.

"Good," Lu-Fang smirked, flinging out a kukri knife in his right hand. "I've been dying to relive the old days." Ares pulled out a dark red metallic kunai knife and presented it to Tigress.

"This was supposed to be your first blade when you grew up. I think you're more than ready to handle it," She smiled. Tigress gently took it in her hand.

"Mei, are you sure you want to come with us," Tai-Lung asked. Mei-Ling poked his nose.

"And let you have all the fun?" Mei-Ling smirked. "I wouldn't miss this for the world." Crane walked up to Ai with a glare that matched her stern disgruntle look.

"After you, Miss Ai," Crane lowly grumbled. Ai led the way.

"Try not to hold me back," Ai muttered.

"You know, oftentimes I wonder if the hatred you two had for each other transferred to other people," Po said to Tai-Lung and Tigress.

"Yeah, sure, this is our fault," Tai-Lung grumbled annoyedly as they followed the impatient female bird. Tigress suddenly saw her father's glare at the female bird.

"Father, is something wrong?" Tigress whispered to him.

"That... bird... she reminds me of someone... I don't know who," Lu-Fang ominously said.

* * *

"Hurry!" Ai called, "Lu-Chang is in trouble." Ai flew right over the rigid of the mountain. Po finally climbed up over the top of the mountain, seeing a sea of clouds and spots where he could see to the ground. The sun dazzled in brilliance as it started to set, setting a red fiery glow to the horizon. Po smiled at the sight.

"What?"

"I just realized," Po said to Tigress. "Your fur, it matches the color of a sunset. Both are equally beautiful." Tigress slightly blushed a bit at the comment.

"Come on, you two," Tai-Lung laughed, making his way between them, "You can romance later, we have a friend to save." They started to slide down the mountain as did Crane. Ai flew by him. They hit the ground, but Po hit the ground a bit too hard.

"Ugh, thanks," Po thanked Crane for picking him up as Tai, Tigress, Lu-Fang, Mei, and Ares came down to the bottom with him. "Ugh, my back."

"That's the one thing you should keep in shape for the honeymoon," Lu-Fang quickly and quietly mentioned to Po as he passed by. The panda blushed brightly as he quickened his pace to the gang. Crane took to the skies with Ai in front of him.

"I can keep a watch out for myself," Ai grumbled, flying ahead a bit more.

"Yes, but you could use some hel-"

"I don't need your help," Ai promptly replied, leaving him in the dust as she went higher up in the clouds.

"I didn't mean it like- Ugh!" Crane muttered as he swooped down closer to the group. "She's impossible."

"No, she's a woman. Just respect her like anyone else," Tai-Lung said as if he were an expert on the subject.

"I'm trying!" Crane grumbled out.

"Try harder," Tai-Lung urged. Crane huffed.

"Crane, it's not like you to lose your head like this. Remember, she's worried about a friend," Po reminded him.

"Something you should know about," Mei-Ling spoke up. Crane sighed once Mei-Ling spoke. Crane took the clouds and found Ai still trying to fly by her lonesome. Crane quietly flew next to her lower left side.

"I told you, I don't need help," Ai restated.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Crane said.

"Good," Ai muttered as they flew in silence for a while before Crane said.

"It's not your fault she got captured." Ai sighed heavily.

"Yes, it is," Ai mumbled, flying a little slower, right next to Crane.

"Well, blaming yourself isn't going to help," Crane replied. "You know, whatever happened, happened. You can't change the past," Crane sighed, remembering Li's death, "No matter how much you try." Ai sighed in remorse as she looked away from Crane.

"I'm... sorry for my attitude. I don't trust many people," Ai replied.

"Hehe, I know the kind," Crane chuckled, thinking about Tigress. "But I can understand the pressure and worry. Just remember, you're not alone." The female bird looked at him with a small smile. "So, why don't we start over."

"Sure, I'm Ai." She smiled with a laugh.

"I'm Crane, also known as Wingblade." Ai's eyes shot open. Her wings froze in midair as she processed what he said. "Ai?"

"Yo... You're THE Wingblade? Oh my gosh! You're my idol! I am so _so_ sorry for earlier! If I had known I-"

"Probably would've acted like all the fans that learn about my identity," Crane replied. Ai looked incredibly ashamed. "Don't worry. It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"Okay, you're right," Crane bluntly agreed. Ai glared at him a bit. "But the point is you realize your mistake. That's all the matters."

"Thank you, Master Wingblade," Ai smiled warmly. Crane gave an almost goofy grin.

"Just Crane," He corrected. "I haven't taught anyone before yet." Ai suddenly looked stiff.

"Would you... teach me?" Ai asked shyly. Crane's eyes popped wide.

"Sss sure," He stuttered, smiling at the female bird.

"Hey you two," shouted a voice from in front of them through a clearing in the clouds. "Get moving! You've been circling around up there for 10 minutes!" Po shouted. The two birds awkwardly chuckled at their blunder as they flew over to Po and the others.

**Continued...**


	31. The Flying Mist Bandit

The Flying Mist Bandit

* * *

"Put your left foot there, and then swing your body over," Crane instructed, guiding her form through the motions. "Great, just like that," He said to Ai with a smile. Tai-Lung, Tigress, and Po watched from the campfire. The rest were sleeping in their tents.

"It looks like they've gotten over their differences," Tai-Lung smirked.

"Like two kittens I know," Po smiled genuinely. Tai-Lung looked at Tigress with a humorous smile. Then he frowned a bit as he looked at Po.

"Po, there's been a question I've been meaning to ask," Tai-Lung said somberly.

"Shoot."

"Why did you bring me back to the real world," Tai-Lung asked. Tigress's eyes shot open. She looked at Po for an answer. Po slowly reclined a bit against the cold face of the mountain slab behind.

"I guess it's worth talking about," Po sighed. "I brought you into the world because... honestly, I felt sorry for you. You weren't some person trying to get power to corrupt the world, you were just ambitious. That unchecked ambition was the result of Master Shifu's pride... and Oogway is to blame too."

"How?" Tigress asked in curiosity.

"Sure, Shifu was directly responsible for Tai-Lung, but Master Oogway was in the same place. Why didn't he take Tai-Lung under his wing when he saw the 'darkness' inside of him? Why didn't he warn him? Why didn't he choose to teach him instead of Shifu? We could have saved this whole thing from happening if Oogway had just stepped in when he saw what was happening." Po explained. Tai-Lung's eyes widened as the panda's words made a lot of sense. But then he thought for a moment.

"But there's no guarantee that you would have been Dragon Warrior," Tai-Lung argued.

"Hmm?"

"Even if things were set in a way that everything would happen the same, there would still be a risk that you would really quit from being Dragon Warrior, especially if I were here," Tai-Lung replied. His expression turned solemn. "In addition to all of the doubts and adversity you would face from the Furious Five, Shifu would have been different and I... there's no telling what I would do."

"What happened, happened," Tigress said, breaking up the depressing air around them, "We move on, we make mistakes, and we become better because of it. And we can't blame others for our mistakes." Po and Tai-Lung nodded.

"Also," Po continued, "I brought you back because deep down, I felt as if there was something missing from the Jade Palace. Like a family bond that needed to be repaired. And it never went away until you and Tigress weren't trying to kill each other."

"But that shouldn't be something to concern you," Tigress pointed out, crossing her arms. Po rolled his eyes.

"It was just a feeling, okay? I can't explain it!" Po exclaimed. Tai-Lung sighed.

"Well, I've learned to trust that feeling more than my own instincts. Sometimes, Po, you're head isn't in the right place, but you're the only person I've seen that when he follows his heart, it will always lead you to the right decision," The snow leopard smiled. Po smiled back.

"Just what Shifu would say," Po chuckled.

"Oh gosh, if I start sounding like him, please put me out of my misery," Tai-Lung groaned, making Tigress and Po laugh. The two birds kept practicing behind the three. "I think we should leave them alone. Goodnight you two," Tai-Lung said as he went into his own tent. Po felt Tigress hug him from the side one last time before going into her tent. Po did the same.

"There we go, follow the movement," Crane instructed, facing her as Ai quickly swept his feet. Crane fell to the ground. "Argh! Yeah, just like that." He grunted as his hat fell off.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Ai apologized as Crane dusted himself off. Ai silently got his hat for him. "Here you... go," Ai stopped short when she saw Crane's full face without his hat. Red hair neatly decorated his head. It was messy and unkempt, but somehow that made him look cuter.

"Hehe," Crane nervously chuckled as he grabbed the hat from Ai. "Yeah, my hair is a little weird. That why wear the hat." Ai's wing stopped him from putting the hat on.

"I... I like it," Ai smiled warmly. Crane swallowed nervously as he coughed a bit to clear his throat.

"I think we've trained enough for today. Why don't we get some rest," Crane said. Ai nodded, blushing a hint at the awkward interaction. She walked over to her tent, looking behind her to find Crane watching her.

"Goodnight," She said, disappearing into the tent.

"Night," Crane softly whispered as he went into his tent. He gave a sigh. This kind of feeling was... new to him. Or at the very least it had been a while.

"Crane?"

"Yeah, Po," Crane mumbled, not completely registering that Po had spoken.

"You realize this isn't your tent, right?" Po said. Crane's head shook as he examined his surroundings.

"Oh! SSorry Po," Crane quickly said, darting out of his tent. Po rolled his eyes as he went back to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, the team got to the forbidden area of the Kuns. Ai and Crane decided to walk over with the others to sneak up on the Kuns. "What are the Kuns like?" Tigress asked her father.

"They're not much different from the Knife Ring. They're actually rouges of a gang called the Sword Ring." Tigress looked at Lu-Fang with a face of disbelief... and sarcastic deadpanned demeanor. "I know. Yes, I know that it's...moronic, but that's their name."

"The two Rings have been living in harmony, working side by side with each other. But the Kuns are a band of crocodiles that have never been fully dealt with," Ares added.

"Until now," Po smirked, popping his fingers. Crane noticed that Ai was sadly silent.

"What's wrong?"

"I... I have to tell you something, but... it's hard to say," Ai sighed heavily.

"If it has anything to do with Lu-Chang, it's not your fault."

"But..." She sighed, then formed a small smile. "Nevermind, let's go." Crane eyed her worriedly. Unbeknownst to them, Lu-Fang was still eying Ai suspiciously.

"What are you thinking," Ares asked her husband.

"She looks so familiar, but I don't know why," Lu-Fang confided in her and Tigress. The two tigresses nodded, promising to keep a sharp eye out.

The Kuns' region was around low swampish wetlands. Large overgrown trees dipped their leaves into the water. Tai-Lung looked at Po, nodding in silent agreement of their plan. They found three small boats, covered the boats with their tent tarps and slowly and carefully drifted into the wetland. They stayed quiet as they steered their way through the water, finally coming to a river village with its houses and boardwalks on the river. The group moved around onto the boardwalks. They followed the sounds of grunts and strains to a large wooden warehouse. The whole river village seemed to be abandoned. They followed the sounds up to a wooden catwalk just outside where they found an opening in the roof. Jumping through it, they landed behind some old crates situated above the Kuns. Tigress peered over the crates. The crocs were brutish looking giants, almost as big as rhinos. Each one had a different kind of scar, but they were all in the same family by the looks of the facial features.

"I told you, I don't know what you're talking about," Lu-Chang grunted, shackled down the ground on her knees. The lead croc, the one with the most scars, gently lifted her chin up to face him. He leered with devious intentions.

"If you don't tell us what we need to know, my kitty," He smirked, grabbing a sword and placing it near her throat, "I believe that you're going to receive a new scar right around your neck."

"What do they want with her?" Tigress questioned Po. The panda only shrugged, intently listening.

"I told you, I don't know any... Flying Mist Bandit," Lu-Chang exclaimed.

"Liar!" Said one of the smaller crocs, "We saw you with her before we took over your hideout."

"What are they talking about?" Tigress asked Po.

"The Flying Mist Bandit is a rouge Knife AND Sword member of the rings. She steals priceless artifacts from the gangs," Po explained. Suddenly, a realization hit Crane as he saw Ai's shameful face.

"Ai," Crane sighed disappointedly.

"I wanted to tell you," Ai sadly said, "But I was... I was afraid you wouldn't-"

"You're the Flying Mist Bandit," Po openly declared, though quietly enough not to be heard. "Awesome! How do you do those misty stuff that-"

"Po!" Tigress and Tai-Lung sternly corrected.

"Sorry." Crane simply looked at Ai's solemn and guilty look. Ai didn't dare look at him. Judgment from her idol. She didn't know if she could take that.

"Let's get this whole thing done first, then we'll deal with what we need to deal with," Tai-Lung said. Crane nodded, giving Ai one last look. "Now, how do we get there?"

"I know!" Po said. "Ai could use one of her mist dangers."

"Um... I guess," Ai replied, a little surprised that the panda was so quickly over the fact that she was the bandit that had been an annoyance to their gangs.

**Continued...**


	32. The End of the Kuns

The End of the Kuns

* * *

The Crocs suddenly heard a sharp knife slung through the air. Attached to it was a bag that crashed to the floor, releasing a huge cloud of mist around the crocs. "She's back!" Said the lead croc. The crocs looked all around, silently waiting for their unseen enemy to strike. Suddenly, the sound of one of them disappearing in the fog was followed by another. Then another and another. "Show yourself, coward."

"Of course," said an almost evil voice. With one sweep of their wings, Ai and Crane revealed the whole team to the crocodiles. "Were you looking for us?" Tai-Lung smirked, having his foot on one of the downed croc's chest. The lead croc stumbled back a bit as he recognized the group.

"What are the Dragon Warrior and the members of the Furious Five doing here?! You have no business here," The lead croc shouted, "This girl associates with that feathered bandit that you have in your group! She's the real criminal." Lu-Chang was chained down to a large round wooden beam in the warehouse. The lead croc took his sword out. "What's the life of one criminal to you?" He said, about to cut Lu-Chang's neck open when Po suddenly threw his dagger at the croc, knocking the sword out of the croc's hand. The dagger sank its blade into the wooden post just above Lu-Chang. The lead croc read the inscription of the blade in shaking panic.

"Because you are a different set of criminals in another 'Ring'," Crane firmly stated.

"You... you're the legendary... Dagger and Wingblade?" The lead croc trembled. Lu-Chang looked at Po in confused surprise.

"And your reign of terror Kun is over," Lu-Fang declared.

"You done messed up, Crokkie!" Po shouted. Suddenly, guards started coming out of all directions. "Take care of them! Kun's ours," Po said as he went with Crane, Lu-Fang, and Tigress after the fleeting lead croc. Kun crashed out of the warehouse, stumbling to the end of the boardwalk. A thrown dagger barred his way. "You're not going anywhere, Kun." The crocodile whistled, causing four other crocs to dart out of the river.

"And you're not either," Kun smirked. Just before the lead croc jumped into the water to hide, Tigress jumped over the horde of crocs, kicked the croc into the water and dove in after him. The water thrashed around and bubbled as Tigress fought the croc under the water.

"She's going to run out of air quickly, guys!" Crane announced, charging towards the crocs. Po tried rushing after Tigress, but the crocs blocked his way with their swords.

"You're going to have to get through us, tubby," the croc smirked cockily. Po glared at the crocs.

"If Kun gets scratches on my Tigress, you all are going to become my new leather boots," Po growled menacingly.

"Take it from us, you don't want to test him on that," Crane added. The two crocs charged at the panda, but the panda simply dodged their swings, caught their hands, and turned them onto their backs. He spun around, knocked the last croc's sword out of his hand, grabbed him by the arm, and threw him over to the other crocs. Just as Po was about to jump into the water to get Tigress, a striped hand sprung out of the water onto the boardwalk. Tigress climbed out of the water, throwing the croc onto the boardwalk, hands tied behind his back with a bunch of seaweed. Tigress smirked as she climbed onto the board.

"Miss me?" She teased the panda, seeing his shocked stupified face. Po breathed easier but still glared at her.

"Don't scare me like that again," Po sighed out of relief. Tigress rested her hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, she saw a croc start to sneak up on her father. Tigress took out her red metaled knife, threw it at the croc, and knocked the sword out of his hand. Lu-Fang and Crane quickly tackled him down and tied him up with the others. Lu-Fang couldn't help but smile as he brought her back her dagger.

"Perfect throw on the first time. Not bad," Lu-Fang smirked. Tigress smiled proudly back.

"Not bad! That was awesome!" Po exclaimed. "How you just threw it like it was nothing! OH! And then how you just came out of the water with Kun all 'miss me' And... why are you smiling like that?" Po asked, noticing the tigress practically beaming at him. She suddenly hugged the panda. Crane's beak dropped open, making the creaking noise it usually does.

"It's good to have _this_ side of you back," Tigress quietly hummed. Po relaxed a bit into the hug and smiled. They went back to the warehouse, carrying Kun in and dropping him on the floor.

"Well, what did I miss?" Po asked with a smile. Lu-Chang, now free, hugged the panda tightly.

"Thank you for coming after me," Lu-Chang replied. Then she hugged Tigress as well, surprisingly. "And thank you for making him happy," Lu-Chang sighed with a smile. So she knew about the two of them. Tigress groaned. Probably the onions she was smelling. Po glanced over to the two birds, one shyly avoiding the gaze of the other.

"I... I was trying to tell you but... I'm sorry," The Flying Mist Bandit sighed. Crane continued to look at her, not in judgment but disappointment. But finally, he sighed.

"We've had our fair share of reformed criminals in the Jade Palace," Crane said with a small smile.

"Really?" Asked Ai.

"Hi," Tai-Lung announced, waving his hand.

"I think the Jade Palace will to have another one," Crane smiled. Ai's eyes widened as they also started to water. She leaped at Crane, wrapping her soft wings around his neck and hugging him tightly. It was a light hug, but Crane felt as if she was forcing all of the breath out of his lungs.

"Well, looks like he's learned a bit about forgiveness," Tai-Lung smirked to his striped sister.

"As have we," Tigress said with a smile. Finally tying all of the crocs together, Po let out a sigh and dusted his hands, saying.

"Alright, guys. Let's head home."

**Continued...**


	33. The Adventures of Chaos

The Adventure of Chaos

* * *

A few days later, Tigress and Tai-Lung were playing a small game. The snow leopard grinned deviously as Tigress smirked back at him. Po rolled his eyes, but sore losers always make a big fuss. The game was called 'look that way'. Goal: one person points, the other tries not to look in the direction as fast as they can. The two masters pointed and dodged the point as quickly as possible, with lightning-fast relaxes. Po always lost the game, but it was funny to watch Tigress and Tai-Lung go at it like this. Suddenly, Zeng rushed into the kitchen. "Masters, Master Shifu has arrived in the village. He's coming up the mountain as we speak!" Zeng panted.

"Oh shoot! Is everyone decent!" Po frantically said.

"You and I are wearing only pants and are bareback all the time. What are you talking about 'decent'?" Tai-Lung rhetorically said.

"Well, I still have to fake the fact that the Jade Palace has been in chaos for the past three years," Po argued.

"Chaos you caused?" Tigress sly mentioned, sipping her tea as Po glared at her.

"She's right, though. It was your decision to bring me back, listen to Jai-Lung, make friends with Lu-Chang, NOT tell us about the Knife ring-"

"I get it," Po grunted. "Geez, I don't know if it's a good or bad thing you guys are friends now."

"That's because you don't like being interrogated by both of us," Tigress smirked. Po huffed childishly. "But he is right. We'll have to explain a lot to Master Shifu." Tai-Lung sighed in dread.

"This is going to be fun." He muttered.

The day wore on. Tigress passed through the happy merry dirt streets of the village. Animal children ran around in the streets playing their little game. The female tiger stopped by Mr. Ping's noodle shop. She peered into the entryway, seeing her parents and Po's two dads playing Mahjong.

"HA! I win!" Mr. Ping exclaimed.

"You cheated!" Lu-Fang roared, causing his wife to laugh.

"Now, now, let's not get our temper all riled up," Mr. Ping smirked, suddenly dropping an extra tile. "Oops."

"AH HA!" Li-Shan pointed out. Tigress shook her head and kept walking. She came to a small stream that ran across the village. Just over the bridge of that stream were two cranes, sitting on a bench, smiling as they talked with each other. Tigress hid behind a tree, deciding to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"I would have never thought you could mess up a simple order that badly. No wonder Mr. Ping doesn't allow you to cook in the shop," Ai teased. Crane grumbled a bit at the teasing but still smirked.

"Well, we know that you still need to learn how to cook," Crane returned. Ai glared at him, only causing him to laugh as Ai playfully pushed him away. Tigress smiled again, slipping away as she walked up the steps of the Jade Palace. As she got to the courtyard, she heard the shouts and blows of two people sparring. Then-

"OW! Mei!"

"Sorry," Mei-Ling apologized, rubbing the snow leopard's head for him. Tai-Lung suddenly became stiff. "Are you hurt?"

"Hehe, I'm fine," Tai-Lung coughed, hiding his blunder. Mei-Ling smiled. Tigress smirked, walking around them through another route. She came to the Hall of Heroes, quiet and empty of people. She looked around, gazing at the artifacts as trinkets and tokens of memories. They had come a long way.

"Weird, isn't it?" Tigress's ears perked up. She never recognized that voice. She spun around, drawing her red metal dagger and standing in a defensive pose. She was surprised to see an old duck with a small smile. "Sorry to alarm you. I'm-"

"You're Jai-Ling," Tigress answered. The duck smiled.

"So you've heard of me."

"You're the one who's been giving Po all of the missions that reveal our past and struggles."

"I've sent you on missions, that's true. But if there was a hardship or past issue that you dealt with, it was your own choice to decide whether or not it was a struggle." Tigress thought about it for a moment.

"No, that's wrong," She bluntly pointed out. Jai-Ling smiled.

"Always quick on your feet," He humorous mentioned. "I just came to give you some closure."

"Closure?"

"You've been wanting to know who is the duck who seems to know Po better than any person on earth. Now you've seen him," Jai-Ling replied.

"That doesn't explain who you are, why you know so much about us, why were you here in the first place, and why bother with us?" Tigress questioned. Jai-Ling tilted his head a bit, looking at the ceiling of the hall for a moment before speaking directly to her.

"Your... well-being, is more important than the answers to your questions, Tigress. I feel as if giving you comfort and... let's say deliverance from your situation is better than simply giving you answers. If I just gave you answers-"

"I would learn the lesson," Tigress finished. Jai-Ling smiled.

"You're such an intelligent woman, Tigress," The duck replied, turning around and starting to walk away. "Tell Po that he won't see much of me again. Master Shifu has decided to move back to the Jade Palace."

"Figures," Tigress muttered. Of course, her former master would move back JUST as everything in the palace was settling down. Jai-Ling chuckled as if he was reading Tigress's mind. "I will. Thank you, Jai-Ling."

"Always my pleasure," The duck said, silently flapping his wings as he flew away. Just then, coming up the steps were two pandas, one giant and the other red and old.

"Master Shifu," Tigress respectfully bowed. Shifu smiled as he bowed along with her.

"Just Shifu now. I'm retired, remember?" Shifu replied. Tigress nodded, still respectful of her father figure. "Grandmaster Po," Shifu said with a bit of pride in his student, "Was just explaining to me all that transpired here." Tigress glanced at Po with tense fear.

"Everything?" She asked. Shifu smiled.

"I've already seen Tai-Lung," Shifu replied. Tigress's expression was uninterpretable to Po. "And I learned about your parents. You must be very relieved."

"Relieved, master?"

"You never have to question again why you were you left at the orphanage," Shifu explained.

"Uh, let's get out of the gloomy past, please?" Po interrupted. Shifu smiled.

"Well, you'll be glad to know that I-"

"You're moving back here," Tigress completed. Both of the pandas were surprised. "Jai-Ling told me."

"Jai-Ling?" Shifu questioned. Tigress looked at Po with a deadpanned face while the panda whistled nervously.

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

"I was... going to get around to it," Po quietly replied. Tigress rolled her eyes. "There's this duck named Jai-Ling that's given us these missions and we-"

"Is he old and seems to know each and everything about you?" Shifu asked. Tigress and Po were amazed.

"Yes. How did you know?" Tigress asked. Shifu stroked his beard.

"It's impossible," Shifu muttered.

"Master?" Po asked.

"Jai-Ling was the one who told Master Oogway who where to go to find the mystery of Kung Fu," Shifu explained. "He directed Oogway to the very spot. But that can't be. He would have to be at least 300 years old."

"Master Oogway was 200," Po pointed out.

"The average duck lives to be about 40 **(it isn't but we have to allow that for Mr. Ping's sake)**. He should have been dead by now." Shifu explained, "But how?" No one could answer, but Tigress spoke a word of wisdom.

"Rather than seek for answers, let's just be glad that it all turned out for the best," Tigress replied. Shifu and Po nodded. Then Shifu looked at Po with a smile.

"So, Po, other than the mystical forces typical of China meddling with your life, how has your life been otherwise." Po stayed silent for a while before finally speaking.

"It's been an adventure of Chaos," Po sighed with a small smile, gently grabbing Tigress's hand. "But I think... I'm okay with that."

**THE END**


End file.
